Spill's Toll Slight, But Growing

The official count of animals killed as a result of a fuel spill off the Galapagos Islands increased Tuesday from three to nine, authorities said.

"They are all marine birds, with the exception of a stingray, which we found this morning," said Eliecer Cruz, director the Galapagos National Park.

Before, only one pelican and two seagulls were known to have died from fuel spilled by the tanker Jessica, which ran aground two weeks ago in waters off of San Cristobal Island.

Strong sea current carried most of the fuel into open ocean, averting an environmental disaster after the vessel dumped the bulk of its 234,000 gallons of diesel and bunker fuel.

Still, Cruz said some 60 birds and marine animals — including sea lions, seagulls and albatrosses — were rescued and cleaned of oil before they were released. He did not rule out that other animals could still be affected.

"The situation requires special attention and permanent monitoring," he said.

While scientists here say the spill could have been much worse, the long-term environmental damage to the islands, 600 miles off the Ecuadorian mainland, remains unclear.

One far-reaching threat is that sunken fuel could have destroyed algae vital to the food chain. That could threaten marine iguanas, sharks, birds that feed off fish and other species, officials say.

Isolated slicks were still present in the waters, Cruz added, concentrated mostly off Isabela Island, 84 miles west of San Cristobal, where park rangers and dozens of volunteers were ready in case the fuel reached shore.

Days of sunshine had evaporated much of the diesel, "causing it to convert into a kind of sludge or paste that is less toxic and much easier to clean up."

The Galapagos Islands SIZE>

After failing to re-float and tow away the Jessica, Ecuadorian authorities were considering taking the vessel apart and hauling it away in pieces.

The tanker still has some 3,000 gallons of fuel in a holding tank, said Ramiro Morejon, chief of marine operations for the Galapagos National Park, said Monday, adding: "Precisely for that reason we must get that ship out of there."

At least three criminal proceedings have been announced against Jessica Capt. Tarquino Arevalo, his crew and an official from Petrocomercial, an affiliate of the state-owned oil company Petroecuador that distributes fuel within the island group.

A Galapagos judge ordered Arevalo and the Petrocomercial official, Julio Guerrero, held in police custody until investigaions are complete. Formal charges have yet to be filed but authorities have said convictions on charges of negligence and crimes against the environment could carry prison sentences of up to two to four years.

Arevalo insisted last week he is only partly to blame for the pollution.

"I am directly responsible for what happened, responsible for grounding the vessel. That I accept," he said at the naval base medical clinic where he is under police custody and being treated for nervous tension.

However, the 58-year-old veteran seaman said he would not accept responsibility for the magnitude of the damage. He claimed it could have been curtailed if Galapagos National Park officials had acted sooner to call for help to recover the diesel and heavy bunker fuel from his ship.

The Jessica ran aground after Arevalo turned off his radar and mistook a signal buoy for a lighthouse.

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