State of emergency declared in Galapagos Islands after ship runs aground

Ecuador has declared a 180-day state of emergency so officials can free up resources to move a freighter that ran aground in the Galapagos Islands last week.

The Floreana was carrying 1,400 tons of cargo, including food, construction materials, and 13,000 gallons of fuel, when it ran aground in Naufragio Bay on Jan. 28. Jorge Torres, governor of Galapagos, told The Wall Street Journal that there wasn't any environmental danger as the fuel didn't spill and most of it has been removed from the ship, but scientists and environmentalists say they won't be in the clear until the vessel is gone.

"Naufragio is a bay with great biological diversity," says Carlos Valle, a professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. "There is a potential risk of its being affected, especially for very large colonies of sea lions and invertebrate species form the coast." Officials say it should take about 15 days to get the freighter removed.

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