The MS ''Oliva'' was a

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...

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 Nightingale Island is an active volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, in area, part of the Tristan da Cunha group of islands. They are administered by the United Kingdom as part of the overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tri ...

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

, in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, at 4 am while on a voyage from Santos,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

to China 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 and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockhopper penguin. ...

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 Coorong National Park is a protected area located in South Australia about south-east of Adelaide, that predominantly covers a coastal lagoon ecosystem officially known as The Coorong and the Younghusband Peninsula on the Coorong's southern ...

in south-east

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The lifeboat was later put on display adjacent to the former Cape Jaffa lighthouse in

Kingston SE Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) formerly Kingston is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about ...

, 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 2009 ships Ships of Malta March 2011 events in Africa