The MS ''Oliva'' was a

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

launched in 2009. On 16 March 2011, due to the risky navigation of trying to achieve the minimal allowed clearance of Nightingale Island of 10 nmi, and due to human error in navigation reducing the actual clearance to zero, the ship went aground off Nightingale Island,

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...

, in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

, at 4 am while on a voyage from Santos,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

with a cargo of soya beans. The ship broke in two and was a total loss. All 22 crew were rescued. More than 800 tons of fuel oil leaked from the ship and coated some 20,000

northern rockhopper penguin The northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin, or Moseley's penguin (''Eudyptes moseleyi'') is a penguin species native to the southern Indian Ocean, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockho ...

s. The remains of the ship have been left to be claimed by the ocean. There is an area of soya bean deposits and reduced sealife around the wreck due to the cargo of soya bean removing the oxygen from the water.

Lifeboat

In February 2013, a lifeboat from the ''Oliva'' washed up on a beach in the Coorong National Park in south-east

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. The lifeboat was later put on display adjacent to the former Cape Jaffa lighthouse in Kingston SE, South Australia, where it forms part of the town's National Trust maritime display. MS Olivia lifeboat plaque

References

External links

Tristan da Cunha website: MS ''Oliva'' Disaster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliva Bulk carriers Ships built in China Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean History of Tristan da Cunha Oil spills in Africa 2009 ships Ships of Malta March 2011 in Africa