State of Emergency in the Galápagos Islands Due to Cargo Ship Run Aground

Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the Galápagos Islands on Thursday due to a cargo ship than ran aground off the rocky coast of the island of San Cristobal. Officials worry the islands' fragile ecosystem could be threatened.

The ship was an Ecuadorian freighter named the Galapaface I and was carrying more than 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel. It became stranded off of San Cristobal last Friday, but it's still possible that pollutants such as motor oil inside the vessel could spill and pose a risk to the environment.

"As a result of the emergency declaration the Risk Management Secretariat will be able to directly carry out the purchase of goods, the procurement of services and the work that are required to overcome this emergency," read a statement issued by the Ecuadorian government via this BBC News article.

The fuel that the ship was carrying has been removed, according to Ecuador's environment minister, Lorena Tapia Nunez, but the Galápagos Islands mayor, Jorge Torres says that the stranded ship remains an environmental risk for the Galapagos Marine Reserve. As a result, the state of emergency is expected to last for six months, according to the environment ministry.

The islands are famous for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Charles Darwin, the famed naturalist and geologist, did much of his research there because of the unique species the islands possessed. Additionally, the islands were formed due to ongoing seismic and volcanic activity, which has resulted in the development of rare and unusual animal life, especially the marine species.

Scientists throughout the world still conduct research at the Galápagos Islands, including a recent study led by University of Utah scientists that helped the endangered Galápagos finches battle killer maggots that were responsible for declining finch nestlings.

Authorities hope to contain the possible issues that the cargo ship may pose, especially after the 2001 incident when an oil tanker (also stranded off the coast of San Cristobal) decimated the marine iguana population. This was considered the islands' worst disaster.

You can read more about the stranded Galapaface I in this NBC News article.