The stricken tanker that fouled naturalist Charles Darwin's Galapagos island paradise cannot be moved and is set to become an artificial reef, says the United States Coast Guard.
The Ecuadorean Navy had hoped to clear the semi-submerged Jessica from the tiny harbour of San Cristobal island where it ran aground last week, leaking most of its 908,500-litre cargo of oil into the archipelago's pristine waters.
But the Navy lacked the right equipment and the hull was in poor condition.
US Coast Guard salvage chief Ed Stanton said waves would probably erode the wreck out of view in two years.
The spilled oil and chemical dispersants have washed out to sea.
Shipwrecked tanker to stay in Galapagos
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