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TRISTAN DA CUNHA - IN BRIEF


MS Ivan Papanin
UPDATE:  Some news which landed on the NAUTICAL LOG desk this afternoon is that the Russian icebreaker MS Ivan Papanin is currently in Capetown, South Africa.  It has been chartered and is heading for Tristan da Cunha next week to aid in the cleanup from the grounding disaster she has a helicopter and large flight deck as can be seen from the photograph.  This is very good news and was something that is really needed to get to the remote areas of these remote Islands.

To get the full story readers can go to the T. da C. website - in brief the Smit tug MS Amandla has now left Tristan for Capetown, South Africa and the tug MS Singapore is due late Sunday or early Monday with supplies and equipment to continue the excellent work being done to protect wildlife.  Also at the website of  Agreement on Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels http://www.acap.aq/ which is based in Tasmania, Australia, there is an excellent report by Marina Burns the wife of Tristan's Administrator.

The website "Latest News" had in its daily report the first real criticism of the MV Oliva as to its navigation or lack thereof which caused this disaster for the Islanders, there is just a little edge to the report. The fishing is seriously impacted and lobsters are not being caught at present, this being the income for the Islanders it is quite understandable that they are unhappy being in this situation.  The report also said that another vessel from the MS Oliva company was going to call at the Island within the next few days to pick up the stranded crew and transport them off the Island.  This is definitely for the best and one hopes that the Master and crew of that vessel will navigate more carefully than the MS Oliva did and the transfer will be successful.  So Mom and Donna hopefully Marlon and Lester will be home soon.

The Island has received legal advice and has no comment other than the Investigation and Inquiry into the grounding continues and it will be some time before there is an Initial Report.

Good Watch.

Please remember the seafarers held captive by pirates off Somalia - let us work with India to free them.

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