stations, ran aground near the U.S. Palmer Station on the 

 Antarctic Peninsula. The ship sustained major hull damage and 

 was abandoned. On 31 January, the ship floated free, drifted 

 nearer Palmer Station, grounded again, rolled over, and sank, 

 leaving about twenty percent of the ship above the sea surface. 



When it grounded, the ship was carrying approximately 

 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 21,000 gallons of JP-1 (a light- 

 weight jet fuel used by the ship's two helicopters), 18,000 

 gallons of gas oil, and 13,000 gallons of lubricating oil. It 

 also was carrying 450 55-gallon drums of diesel fuel and 217 

 canisters of compressed butane and propane gas. The tear in the 

 ship's hull allowed oil to seep out. When the ship rolled over 

 and sank on 31 January, barrels of fuel and canisters of gas 

 broke free and floated away. 



Personnel from Palmer Station and two tour ships operating 

 in the area — Society Explorer and Illyria — assisted in 

 rescuing the 317 passengers and crew from the Bahia Paraiso . 

 Immediately after learning about the accident, the National 

 Science Foundation began organizing an oil spill containment and 

 clean-up effort. Equipment and personnel from the National 

 Science Foundation, the U.S. Navy, the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and private 

 contractors were flown aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5B air transport 

 from Norfolk, Virginia, to Punta Arenas, Chile, on 1 February 

 1989. In Punta Arenas, the equipment and personnel were 

 transferred to the Unitd States' research ship Polar Duke for 

 transport to Palmer Station. 



Between 4 and 7 February, ships and airplanes from the 

 Argentine and Chilean Navies surveyed the wreck site. The U.S. 

 team arrived on 7 February and initiated clean-up operations. By 

 then, between 125,000 and 150,000 gallons of petroleum products 

 were estimated to have leaked into the marine environment. 



Within four days after the ship ran aground, leaking oil 

 covered a 10. 5-square-mile area and had washed up on the beaches 

 of all islands within two to three miles of the wreck site. 

 Preliminary observations indicated that the oil killed limpets in 

 exposed intertidal areas and that consumption of oil- 

 contaminated krill resulted in the death of virtually the entire 

 cohort of skua chicks in the area. Unknown numbers of Adelie 

 penguins, cormorants, gulls, petrels, seals, and other marine 

 organisms also were affected. 



Oil continues to leak from the ship and to affect marine and 

 terrestrial environments and organisms in the area. The National 

 Science Foundation has initiated a long-term research program to 

 assess and monitor the disposition and effects of the oil. This 



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