Galapagos environmental disaster stopped by Dutch team

Dutch salvaging team Mammoet Salvage has prevented large-scale environmental damage in the Galapagos Islands, together with a Chilean partner. The team came to the rescue after a freight ship from Ecuador ran aground close to the harbor of San Christobal in May, the Algemeen Dagblad reports.

The ship, De Galapaface 1, was loaded with 19,000 vats of oils and chemicals. These are very harmful substances to the environment. The ship ran aground, creating a big hole in the ship's body.

As there was a high risk of these harmful substances from leaking into the Pacific Ocean's waters, and consequently causing great environmental damage to the Galapagos islands, home to some of the world's rarest and most interesting creatures, Ecuador called in the Mammoet Salvage team.

The Dutch company stripped the ship and removed all the harmful substances before towing it out to sea where it could sink.