__FORCETOC__ Guamblin Island, also known as Socorro Island, Nuestra Señora del Socorro, or Huamblin, is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an island located in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The island is designated as a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and is recognized as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

due to its significance as a breeding ground for the

sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus' ...

. Although Guamblin Island has never been permanently inhabited, it holds a historical significance and has been the site of notable events.

Early history and expedition

The island was originally named Isla de Nuestra Señora del Socorro. In 1724, the Commercie Compagnie, a Dutch trading company, dispatched two

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

known as ''Don Carlos'' and ''Don Louis'' on an expedition to the region. However, this expedition was considered illegal, as Spain held exclusive trading rights in that part of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. To avoid detection by Spanish ships, the frigates were given Spanish names and flew Spanish flags. Each ship was armed with 34 guns and carried approximately 120 men, predominantly from

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

in the Netherlands, with some crew members originating from Germany and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. On the night of January 31 to February 1, 1725, while the ships were positioned at 48 degrees south

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

, a loud crackling sound was heard aboard the ''Don Louis'', resulting in the mast being torn. By May 15, the ship had become extensively leaky and was in dire need of provisions. The crew embarked on a search for land, and Guamblin Island came into view. Based on old maps, the crew assumed it to be the island of Nuestra Señora del Socorro, which later came to be known as Guamblin Island. Upon their arrival, they discovered no inhabitants, and it appeared uninhabited. Laurens Wartels, the steward of the ''Don Louis'', along with two sailors, suggested staying on the island overnight to gather food and prepare it for the sick. The captain approved of this plan and left supplies behind in case they were unable to return to the ship in the coming days. Unfortunately, a severe storm prevented the ship's

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

from reaching the island, and most of the anchor ropes broke, leaving the ship with only one anchor. As a result, the ship drifted towards the coast, endangering the crew. It wasn't until 26 October that the crew managed to reach Guamblin Island. Upon arrival, they noticed that the large tent built for the sick earlier in May had been toppled, but a smaller tent was present, presumably constructed by the three men who had stayed behind. As they approached the tent, they discovered the three men dead. It appeared that they had succumbed to hunger and cold. Despite the island having no history of permanent human habitation, the crew proceeded to bury the deceased sailors.

Oil spill incident

In another unfortunate incident, the Liberian

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

''Napier'' ran aground on Guamblin Island in June 1973. This incident resulted in an

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

of approximately 30,000 tons of oil. Following the rescue of the crew, Chilean

Hawker Hunters The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Roy ...

were deployed to set the Napier ablaze and burn off the oil, thereby preventing further pollution.SIGWEB Sistemas integrados de Gestión, Carlos Saldivia
Las desconocidas historias de los tres derrames de petróleo en Chile
, retrieved on 18 September 2013

References

External links

The complete story of the ''Don Louis'', by Laurens Beijen
July 30, 2020 (in Dutch) ()

World island information @ WorldIslandInfo.com

South America Island High Points above 1000 meters
*

United States Hydrographic Office The United States Hydrographic Office prepared and published maps, charts, and nautical books required in navigation. The office was established by an act of 21 June 1866 as part of the Bureau of Navigation, Department of the Navy. It was transfe ...

South America Pilot
(1916) Important Bird Areas of Chile Chonos Archipelago Protected areas of Aysén Region National parks of Chile Environment of Chile Oil spills in Chile Islands of Aysén Region Important Bird Areas of Oceania Seabird colonies South American sea lion colonies Uninhabited islands of Chile {{Environmental-disaster-stub

Early history and expedition

Oil spill incident

See also

References

External links