Orcas Sink Yacht in Strait of Gibraltar

Courtesy Salvamento Maritimo

Published Jul 25, 2024 6:52 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The crew of a British yacht had to be rescued after an orca sank their vessel in the Strait of Gibraltar, according to Spanish authorities. It is the latest in a long-running series of "interactions" between orcas and midsize sailing yachts off the coast of Spain.

On Wednesday night, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Tarifa received a distress call from the yacht Bonhomme William. The crew reported that their vessel had been disabled by orcas, which had hit it several times, and was adrift about two miles off Punta Camarinal in the strait's western entrance. The rescue vessel Salvamar Enif got under way for the scene, and as it transited to rendezvous with the stricken Bonhomme William, the yacht's crew radioed to report that the orcas continued to strike the disabled vessel. The pod of assertive killer whales caused so much damage that the yacht began taking on water, and it was clear that it was in danger of sinking. The crew deployed their life raft as a precautionary measure while they awaited rescue.  

Salvamar Enif's crew arrived on scene, rescued the three sailors and retrieved some of the hazardous materials aboard the yacht. By the time they departed, Bonhomme William was halfway submerged with its stern in the air, and it later sank. The responders safely rescued all three crewmembers from the sailing vessel and delivered them to shore in Cadiz. 

It is the second orca-related sinking in three months in the same area. In May, the pod of orcas intercepted the yacht Alboran Cognac off Tangier, on the Moroccan side of the strait. The interaction left the yacht leaking and disabled, and the two crewmembers had to be rescued by a passing tanker. 

A small number of orcas in Spain's nearshore population have been targeting yachts regularly since about 2020. These killer whales are specific in their preferences: According to researchers, the orcas always target sailing yachts measuring less than 15 meters long, usually while under way. They appear to be indifferent to the crew. (There has never been a recorded fatal orca attack in the wild - a reassuring fact, since they are among the ocean's most capable predators.)

Some scientists who have studied the yacht-strike pattern believe that it is a form of play: the whales are all juveniles from the same pod, and may simply enjoy slamming sailboat rudders to watch the boats spin around. A competing theory, suggested by biologist Alfredo López Fernández of the University of Alviedo, is that an orca was injured by a vessel at some point in the past and its family is taking revenge. Whatever the cause may be, the orcas ignore fishing boats and other working vessels, saving all their energy for yachts alone.

 

MSC’s “Runaway” Containership Finally Departs After 45-Day Detention

MSC Michigan VII was held in Charleston for 45 days (YouTube)

Published Jul 23, 2024 12:35 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company vessel MSC Michigan VII (81,574 dwt) was given clearance by the U.S. Coast Guard to depart Charleston, South Carolina after its headline grabbing wild ride as its throttles became stuck at full ahead 45 days ago. The vessel got underway around 0900 on July 23 for a more normal exit from the port as it headed for Freeport in the Bahamas.

Despite having undergone repairs and trials at the dock, the U.S. Coast Guard was not taking any chances this time. The vessel was required to have a three-tug escort out of the harbor. The port captain required two of the tugs to be tethered to the vessel during the harbor transit.

The ship had been under a detention order since June 8 after the mishap where the Coast Guard reports she transited the harbor at up to more than two times the regulated speed. They estimate the 998-foot (304-meter) long containership was traveling at between 14 and 17 knots. Coming after the incident in Baltimore, South Carolina authorities ordered the Ravenel Bridge that crosses Charleston harbor closed and evacuated as the ship made its transit. 

A Charleston pilot was able to oversee the harrowing ride and earned a USCG commendation. The vessel was finally brought to a stop in the Atlantic Ocean and brought back to Charleston. 

 

MSC vessel was traveling at more than two times the maximum speed for Charleston harbor (YouTube)

 

The Coast Guard now reports that its investigation determined that “the primary cause of the incident on June 5, 2024, was that the vessel’s control linkage for the main engine governor became disconnected, rendering the installed propulsion control systems inoperable.”

The investigation into the linkage disconnection is ongoing said the Coast Guard. In addition, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating with the final report expected to take between 12 and 24 months.

In addition to the detention order, a U.S. district court also briefly held the vessel in Charleston. The operator of one of the commercial facilities filed a lawsuit reporting damage to the docks and a vessel that was alongside. Estimates have said the damages would top $500,000. Videos from the incident showed a pier dolphin collapsing under the pressure of the wash and recreational boat owners struggling to control their crafts.

MSC Shipmanagement provided a guarantee to the court to pay any expenses the court determines were caused by the incident. The court released the ship after it received that guarantee.

Before the MSC Michigan VII was permitted to depart, it underwent a Port State inspection. The Coast Guard says dockside trials verified the proper operation of the main engine and auxiliary systems. The Coast Guard however said the ship will not be permitted to return to the United States until it submits proof of successful sea trials.

Built in 2000 and operating previously as the Sealand Michigan, the vessel was acquired by MSC in 2022. She has a capacity of 6,700 TEU and is registered in Liberia.

 

Longliner Sinks off Falklands, Leaving Crew Adrift in Extreme Weather

File image courtesy Argos Froyenes

Published Jul 23, 2024 3:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

[Updated] The crew of a modern freezer-longliner were forced to abandon ship off the coast of the Falkland Islands yesterday, and local accounts report that at least eight lost their lives in "extremely challenging" weather conditions before they could be rescued. 

On Sunday, the 2018-built fishing vessel Argos Georgia got underway from Port Stanley and headed out to her fishing grounds with 27 crewmembers on board. On Monday afternoon, she reported a serious flooding incident at a position about 200 miles to the east of the port. As rescue assets mobilized to the scene, the situation on board deteriorated, and the crew was forced to abandon ship into their life rafts. The vessel sank after they departed. 

The British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) responded by launching a long-range search aircraft, which located the rafts and kept watch on their position. A fisheries patrol vessel and two Good Samaritan fishing vessels also diverted to assist. The BFSAI attempted to launch a helicopter rescue mission later that night, but the flight had to be canceled because of severe and worsening weather conditions. Argentine outlet InfoBae reports that significant wave heights were as high as 25 feet. 

According to Spanish media, multiple crewmembers died in the accident. A Falkland Islands patrol vessel rescued 13 crewmembers from one raft, and a Good Samaritan fishing vessel rescued one survivor and recovered one deceased crewmember from a second raft. Seven other bodies were recovered as of Tuesday night, making eight fatalities and 14 known survivors in total. Five crewmembers remain missing. 

The Falkland Islands government has not confirmed the details of the rescue operation, but said in a statement Tuesday that "a number" of crewmembers had been rescued. The search for the missing is still under way. 

Argos Georgia was a 160-foot freezer longliner built in Turkey. She was involved in the Patagonian toothfish fishery off South Georgia, and ten of her crewmembers were Spanish nationals from the Galician fishing industry, according to EFE. 

"In these difficult times, the Committee on Fisheries offers its solidarity with the Galician people, so closely linked to the fishing sector and from which several of the missing crew members of the ship Argos Georgia come," said EP Committee on Fisheries chair Carmen Crespo. "This accident highlights the harshness of fishing activity and the sacrifice and risk that sea professionals experience."

 

New UK Government to Terminate Controversial Accommodation Barge Contract

Use of the accommodations barge Bibby Stockholm was controversial (Bibby Marine file photo)

Published Jul 26, 2024 6:58 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The United Kingdom’s new Labor government is set to terminate the controversial scheme of housing migrants on the accommodation barge Bibby Stockholm. In the latest move aimed at overturning numerous policies by the ousted Conservative government, the new prime minister announced the contract for the barge will not be renewed when it expires in January.

The Bibby Stockholm, an accommodation vessel built in 1976 and operated by Bibby Marine, is docked at Portland Port, in Dorset, where it has been housing up to 500 single male migrants. The scheme has been the subject of criticism not only due to conditions aboard, which have been investigated due to disease outbreaks, but also due to its financial burden on UK taxpayers.

The new government led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer has now resolved to terminate the housing of migrants on the barge as part of measures to fix the asylum system. By not renewing the contract for Bibby Stockholm, the government contends it will save £20 million ($25.7 million) next year.

The government highlights that ending the use of the barge forms part of the expected £7.7 billion ($10 billion) of savings in asylum costs over the next decade, as the country takes action to restart asylum casework, clear the backlog, and remove those it contends have no right to be in the UK.

“We are determined to restore order to the asylum system, so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced,” said Dame Angela Eagle, Minister for Border Security and Asylum. She added that the new administration has set out plans to start clearing the asylum backlog and making savings on accommodation that has been running up vast bills for the taxpayer.

The decision not to renew the contract for Bibby Stockholm is set to bring to a close what many have described as a “dark chapter” in the UK’s handling of the growing challenge of asylum seekers arriving in the country by crossing the English Channel using small boats.

Government data show that 29,400 people crossed the Channel in small boats in 2023 compared to 46,000 in 2022. This year, the numbers have been on an unprecedented upward swing with 14,058 people crossing as of early July. This is significantly above the numbers for the same period in the previous four years.

Since Bibby Stockholm started housing migrants, there have been cases of disease outbreaks, water contamination, and at least one death, which is believed to have been a case of suicide. Residents of Portland also opposed the mooring of the barge in their harbor.

As part of overhauling the immigration plans of the previous government, Labor has also scrapped another controversial scheme to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda. The Rwanda plan was projected to cost at least £220 million ($284 million), but no deportation has yet occurred.

In its efforts to create a faster, fairer asylum system, the new government highlighted that it has begun rapid recruitment of a new border security commander and committed a 50 percent increase in UK officers at Europol in order to boost intelligence sharing, disrupt criminal people smugglers and bring them to justice.
 

 

First Phase of Salvage of Capsized Bulker Completed Reports SAMSA

Salvage efforts are making progress in South Africa (SAMSA)

Published Jul 26, 2024 11:08 AM by The Maritime Executive

 

South African officials reported that the first phase of the recovery effort for the grounded bulker Ultra Galaxy has been completed. With a break in the harsh winter weather, they report progress is being made while cautioning that another cold front is due to cross the area in the coming days.

The Ultra Galaxy developed a severe list on July 9 during a winter storm off South Africa’s west coast forcing the crew to abandon ship. The crew was rescued by a fishing boat in the area and transferred to shore and later returned home to the Philippines. The vessel continued to drift grounding on a remote part of the Atlantic coast.

“The immediate emergency phase of the salvage operation has concluded,” the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported in its latest update. “This phase included the search and recovery of flotsam and other debris from the ship and sealing the fuel tanks to prevent any oil from spilling into the ocean. A new salvage company, Smit International, has since been appointed to carry on the next phase.”

Earlier this week, on July 23, dive inspections rechecked the structural integrity of the ship and its fuel tanks. In the next phase, the salvage team will be installing a monitoring system that will track the ship’s movement, stresses, and bending forces on the hull as the vessel lies on its side in the surf.

A bathymetric survey is also underway in the waters around the Ultra Galaxy and further off the coast.  These steps will help the salvage team plan for the removal of the vessel.

 

Debris has been removed from the beach (SAMSA)

 

High seas in the days after the ship grounded dislodged hatch covers which were found washed ashore and floating in the bay. In addition, SAMSA warned that the cargo of bagged fertilizer had been exposed to the ocean. While much of it was thought to have dissolved in the ocean, plastic bags were washing up on shore.

As a next step, SAMSA reports a platform supply vessel will be anchored near the wreck. It will be used the help stabilize the ship. Previously, SAMSA said the plan also called for offloading the fuel and other oils from the ship.

While progress has been made as the weather subsided, they are expecting more severe weather conditions this weekend. They expect the pace of the efforts will be slowed while the concern remains that the vessel could break apart.
 

Philippines' drug war victim receives shred of justice

Ana P. Santos in Manila

DW

Mary Ann Domingo's husband and son were killed by police in a drug-bust operation during the height of the Philippine drug war. Eight years later, several officers involved have been convicted of homicide.

Mary Ann Domingo held the portraits of her late husband and son during her graduation ceremony

Image: Raffy Lerma

At 51 years old, Mary Ann Domingo has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of graduating from high school. However, she wishes her son, Gabriel, and husband, Luis, could have attended her graduation.

Past midnight on September 15, 2016, a group of 15 to 20 men, some police in uniform, and others in plain clothes wearing masks, burst into Domingo's home for what they claimed was a drug bust operation.

It was the height of the Philippines' anti-drug campaign launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Luis was their target.

Domingo said she and her children were dragged out into the street. But Gabriel, 19, refused to leave his father. The police shot and killed them both, claiming the two men had resisted arrest.

In June, four policemen involved in the incident were convicted of homicide by a court in Caloocan City, north of Manila. However, filing a case against the police for allegedly killing her husband and son came at a heavy price.

For eight years, Domingo and her family have been constantly moving from threats as part of an informal witness protection program loosely organized by religious groups and human rights organizations.

"We were exhausted," said Domingo, adding that, as witnesses to the killing, she and her family felt unsafe and fled their home.

Philippines: Duterte 'must face reckoning' for drug war  05:02

The scale of the drug-related killings left religious organizations scrambling to provide sanctuary for the dozens of families of those killed.

"They were all so scared. They did not know where they could go or who they could trust. They just knew that they had to run," Jun Santiago, a Redemptorist Brother at the Baclaran Church, told DW.

Years searching for justice

Kristina Conti, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers, has been Domingo's lawyer since 2018. She told DW how Domingo turned her grief into challenging the authorities.

"It was groundbreaking for the family of those killed to sue the police. When we filed the case, there was a small shred of hope," said Conti. She added that despite occasional doubts whether the case would move forward, Domingo "never wavered in her fight for justice."

Conti said officials tried to cover up police responsibility in the drug war killings.

"We expected a cover-up and encountered it in many ways: incomplete evidence, withheld documents, a shoddy investigation into the legitimacy of the police operations," she said.

Domingo's witness testimony was their strongest piece of evidence. To bolster her testimony, the bodies of Gabriel and Luis were exhumed for a postmortem autopsy to determine the cause of death. The findings of the Philippines' premiere forensic pathologist, Dr. Raquel Fortun, revealed that the men sustained multiple gunshots indicating an intent to kill.

Mary Ann Domingo has spoken out for victims of extrajudicial killings

Image: Raffy Lerma

Santiago was with Domingo during the exhumation and forensic autopsy.

With gloved hands, Domingo gently cradled Gabriel's head, folding the edges of the body bag around him as if it were a blanket. The necktie that she had bought for him before he was killed was now black and dusty.

The day before he died, Domingo bought her son a necktie to wear at his new catering job. It meant no more chasing temporary jobs for scraps of money just to get by. Gabriel never got to wear the necktie to work. Instead, he wore it for his own funeral.

"The forensic autopsy was necessary to gather more evidence, but it was incredibly traumatizing for Mary Ann to see her son and husband like that," said Santiago.

Looking ahead to the future

On her graduation day, Domingo was surrounded by her family. Eight years ago, they had consoled each other when Gabriel and Luis were buried.

Now, Domingo's daughter, Alexa, has graduated from college with honors and recently passed a teacher's license exam. Gabriel's son, Gab, is 8 years old and looking more and more like his father. "Gabriel would have been so proud of me. He wanted this so much for me," said Domingo.

Years ago, she had decided to pursue a high school education, at Gabriel's prodding, joining her son in an alternative learning program.

"We sat next to each other in class. He was always showing me off to his friends, saying: 'Look at my momma, so determined to get an education.' He could have been on that stage with me. We could have been sharing this moment together," said Domingo.

Domingo plans to get a degree in community development and become a social worker. She also plans to pursue a case against the other men implicated in the killing of her husband and son.

"They are no longer with us, but their dreams stay with us. Their dreams will carry us forward," said Domingo.

FLOATING TURDS💩

Paris 2024: Swimming training canceled over Seine pollution

France invested €1.4 billion to clean the Seine ahead of the Olympic Games, but recent heavy rains have seen pollution levels rise again in Paris. Organizers said they were "confident" water quality would improve soon.

A swimming training session for the 2024 Paris Olympics' triathlon was canceled on Sunday, with organizers saying recent heavy rain has increased pollution levels in the Seine.

French authorities have invested €1.4 billion ($1.52 billion) in new wastewater infrastructure to cut sewage levels and make the river, where swimming has been banned for over a century, swimmable again.

Organizers were "confident" that sunshine and higher temperatures forecast for the coming 48 hours would improve pollution levels before the triathlon begins with the men's race on Tuesday.

Why was the training canceled?

On days when triathlon training or competitions are scheduled, World Triathlon officials meet with Paris authorities at 4 a.m. They analyze water tests and decide whether the river is clean enough for the athletes to swim.

Tests carried out in the Seine on Saturday "revealed water quality levels that in the view of the international federation, World Triathlon, did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held," organizers of Paris 2024 said in a statement.

They attributed that to the relentless rainfall since the opening on Friday. They stressed that both Paris 2024 and World Triathlon "reaffirm that the health of the athletes is a priority."

"We have had some rainfall but everything that has been put in place has worked," Pierre Rabadan, the city's deputy mayor for sports, told a press conference on Sunday.

"It prevents overflows from occurring so I think we will reach a satisfying quality of the water very soon, but it will depend on the weather forecast as well," he added.

France has been adamant to prove the iconic river is safe for swimming once again, amid concerns ahead of the Olympics. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was among those who went for a dip in the river before the start of the Olympics to prove it was clean and safe.

rmt/dj (dpa, Reuters)

Elite Japanese climbers fall while trying to scale K2

Mountaineers Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima fell from a great height while attempting to climb the world's second-highest mountain. A rescue mission spotted them but reported "no movement" from the elite climbing duo

The K2 is the world's second-tallest mountain, standing at 8,611 meters (28,251 feet) above sea level

Image: Joe Stenson/AFP/Getty Images

Fears for two Japanese climbers, Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima, are growing after a helicopter team reported "no movement" from the two men following a fall at Pakistan's K2.

Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said the veteran mountaineers "fell from a height of 7,500 metres (24,600 feet)."

A helicopter deployed to rescue the climbers managed to find them, said local official Wali Ullah Falahi. However, the aircraft was not able to land.

"Upon close inspection, the bodies of the two climbers were spotted, and it was determined that there was no movement. The heli then turned back," he told the AFP news agency.

Risky climb of 'killer mountain'

The pair's sponsor, Japanese brand Ishii Sports, said a rescue helicopter aborted its landing due to the high altitude and steep slope. Rescue attempts on the K2 are extremely risky.

"The pilot said the two men can be seen, but their status was unclear," the firm said in a statement. "We are currently reviewing how we will rescue them."

The K2 is the world's second-tallest mountain, standing at 8,611 meters and often referred to as the "killer mountain" and "savage mountain." Its ascent is considered even more difficult than that of Everest.

The veteran climbers were hoping to conquer K2's jagged Western face. This side of the mountain has only been successfully scaled once in 2007, by a team of Russian climbers. The Japanese duo apparently used an expert style which prioritizes speed and relies on minimal fixed ropes when they fell.

The secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri, said he was aware of the incident in which two Japanese went missing on K2 and "we are hoping for a miracle, and miracles do happen after such incidents."

rmt/dj (AFP, AP)

Libyan court hands jail terms to officials linked to deadly Derna dams collapse

A Libyan court on Sunday handed jail sentences to more than 10 current and former officials for their links to the deadly collapse of two dams outside the coastal city of Derna in September. The resulting flood killed thousands of people, according to the World Health Organization.

Issued on: 28/07/2024 -

In this file photo, rescuers and relatives of victims set up tents in front of collapsed buildings in Derna, Libya on September 18, 2023, following flooding that devastated the city. 

© Muhammad J. Elalwany, AP

By: NEWS WIRES

A court in Libya on Sunday sentenced 12 current and former officials to terms of up to 27 years in prison over their involvement in the collapse of two dams last year that sent a wall of water several meters high through the center of a coastal city. Thousands of people died.

The two dams outside the city of Derna broke up on Sept. 11 after they were overwhelmed by Storm Daniel, which caused heavy rain across eastern Libya. The failure of the structures inundated as much as a quarter of the city, officials have said, destroying entire neighborhoods and sweeping people out to sea.

The Derna Criminal Court on Sunday convicted 12 current and former officials of mismanagement, negligence and mistakes that contributed to the disaster, according to a statement from the office of the country’s top prosecutor.

The defendants, who were responsible for managing the country’s dams, were given prison terms that ranged from nine to 27 years, the statement said, without identifying them. Three of the defendants were ordered to return “money obtained from illicit gains,” the statement said without elaborating.

The court acquitted four other people, it said.

Sunday’s verdict could be appealed before a higher court, according to Libya’s judicial system.

The oil-rich North African nation has been in chaos since 2011 when a NATO-backed uprising-turned-civil war ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. For most of the past decade, rival administrations have claimed authority to lead Libya. Each is backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

The country’s east has been under the control of Gen. Khalifa Hifter and his self-styled Libyan National Army, which is allied with a parliament-confirmed government. A rival administration is based in the capital, Tripoli, and enjoys the support of most of the international community.

The dams were built by a Yugoslav construction company in the 1970s above Wadi Derna, a river valley that divides the city. They were meant to protect the city from flash floods, which are not uncommon in the area. The dams were not maintained for decades, despite warnings from scientists that they could burst.

Read moreLibya’s deadly dam collapse was decades in the making

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A report by a state-run audit agency in 2021 said the two dams hadn’t been maintained despite the allocation of more than $2 million for that purpose in 2012 and 2013.

The flood of water from the dams left as much as one-third of Derna’s housing and infrastructure damaged, according to the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

The World Health Organization said more than 4,000 flood-related deaths have been registered, but the head of Libya’s Red Crescent previously cited a death toll of 11,300. OCHA said at the time that along with the registered deaths, there were at least 9,000 missing people.

(AP)

Endangered gazelles find Libyan ‘safe haven’

DOING BETTER THAN AFRICAN MIGRANTS

By AFP
July 27, 2024

The slender-horned rhim gazelles, which are native to North Africa, have become an endangered species - Copyright AFP Mahmud Turkia
Mohamed RAHOMA with Rim TAHER in Tripoli

Cocooned in white bags and nestled in the arms of volunteers, eight young rhim gazelles — an endangered species native to North Africa — have been transferred to an uninhabited Libyan island.

Environmentalist hope their new home on Farwa island, near Tunisia, will be a haven for the vulnerable animal.

Also known as Gazella leptoceros, or simply rhim, the slender-horned gazelle lives in desert areas in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

But its population has declined significantly as it is a prized target for hunters.

According to an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assessment in 2016, there were only between 300 to 600 mature rhims in the North African wild.

Environmentalists “wanted to relocate the wild animals in Farwa”, a 13-kilometre-long (eight-mile) sandbar, as part of the gazelles’ conservation efforts, Mohamed al-Rabti, one of the volunteers, told AFP.

A first group of rhims was released a few weeks ago, “followed by eight individuals, including one male and seven females” on July 18, Rabti added.

As soon as they were released, the young gazelles took off frolicking before promptly disappearing behind the island’s wild bushes.

The animal with long slender horns is small, nimble, and well adapted to desert life with a pale coat that enables better survival by blending into sandy landscapes.

The colouring is less effective against hunters, which for a while have been the gazelles’ major predator.

Equipped with binoculars, automatic rifles and powerful four-wheel drive vehicles, some go after the animals merely as a hobby.

Others hunt them for a price going as high as 5,000 Libyan dinars ($1,000) per carcass.

Gazella leptoceros has been classified in the IUCN’s “Red List of Threatened Species” since 2016.

With no official census from Libya, a country plagued by chaos and instability since the fall of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, little has been done to preserve their lives.

But with the work of numerous NGOs and activists, that could be set to change.

Farwa, though not their natural habitat, seems to have suited the first group of gazelles released on the island, Youssef Gandouz, an environmental activist, told AFP.

They have been “monitored with binoculars and drones and are doing very well,” said Gandouz.

The island is also home to the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), which has become its symbol, and is a staging post for flamingos and other migratory birds travelling over Africa to rest before flying across the Mediterranean to Europe.

– Climate threats –

While it remains uninhabited today, Farwa was once home to Amazigh tribes before they left for neighbouring areas inland.

The island appears picture-postcard idyllic, with scattered date palms on white sandy beaches and ringed by the sparkling Mediterranean.

Kadhafi dreamed of building a luxury seaside resort there, complete with “floating” villas and a golf course.

Once famed for its exceptional wildlife, today it faces a long list of threats including illegal fishing and pollution.

“Many associations and universities… are making significant efforts to protect the biodiversity and plant cover” of Farwa, said Jamal Ftess, a reserve manager for the island.

Besides wildlife, environmentalists have also been working to preserve the island’s scarce flora.

Local associations like Bessida have been planting vegetation that is resistant to wind and sea sprays and requires little water. This can help provide food for the animals, and protect against erosion, they say.

Gandouz, helping volunteers to move some of the plants, said it was the second transplantation effort of its kind on Farwa.

“The vegetation on Farwa is sufficient” for the survival of rhim gazelles, said Ftess, and Gandouz added the narrow island “is now a safe haven where turtles and migratory birds can nest and feed”.

But activists have long warned that coastal erosion and rising water levels are among climate-driven threats the island faces.

Ftess said a study conducted by a Libyan university found that “between 1961 and 2006, Farwa’s coastline lost 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) per year, and between 2006 and 2020 erosion reached two metres per year.”

“We need the help of the authorities to preserve it,” he said.