Ducie Island is an uninhabited coral atoll placed inside the South Pacific Ocean. It has been part of the British Overseas Territory on the grounds of its annexation of the Pitcairn Islands in 1902. Surrounding the island are reefs. The island was located by British Captain Edward Edwards, who was looking for bounty mutineers. It was named after British naval Captain Francis Ducie.
Ducie Island is situated approximately 500 kilometers east of the territory's capital, Pitcairn Island. It spans an area of 6 square kilometers, with a width of 2.4 kilometers to the northeast and 1.6 kilometers to the southwest. The highest elevation on the island is 4 meters, and some trees there attain heights of up to 4.30 meters. The lagoon is deep and regarded for its toxic fish and threatening sharks.
Ducie Island Map
| Name | Ducie Island |
| Country | Pitcairn Islands (British Overseas Territory) |
| Coordinates | 24°41′S 124°47′W |
| Area | 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 |
| Airport | N/A |
History of Ducie Island
In 1791, Captain Edward Edwards of the HMS Pandora located the island, naming it Ducie Island. He was dispatched from England in 1790 to apprehend mutineers.
In 1820, Captain Thomas Raine from the HMS Seringapatam landed on Ducie for the first recorded visit while trying to find survivors of the Essex.
In November 1825, Captain Frederick William Beechey of HMS Blossom supplied the primary complete description of the island. Although Beechey's expedition no longer landed on the atoll, his crew navigated around it in small boats. The first nautical chart of the island was published in 1826, primarily based on Beechey's survey, which remained the best map to be had for nearly a century.
On December 19, 1902, at the behest of British Consul RT Simmons in Tahiti, Captain GF Jones and a group of Pitcairn Islanders visited nearby islands and included Ducie in the British territory.
On August four, 1937, Captain JW Rivers-Carnac of HMS Leander raised the British flag and positioned a plaque, declaring British sovereignty over Ducie on behalf of King George VI. In 1953, the Pacific Order in Council ceased, and the Governor of Fiji became appointed by the Governor of the Pitcairn Islands, making them a separate British colony.
Due to its far-off location, Ducie Island sees little traffic, with occasional landings on cruise ships. There have additionally been unrecorded visits by cargo and oil ships, reportedly dumping particles at the island or in its surrounding waters.
The Fauna on Ducie Island
Ducie Island is renowned for its avian populace, with diverse seabird species nesting at the atoll. Recorded chicken species nesting at the reef encompass purple-tailed tropicbirds, pink-footed boobies, fairy terns, frigatebirds, sanderlings, masked boobies, and red-footed boobies. Many species of terns, including black, blue, brown, tiny, and white terns, additionally inhabit the island. Over 90% of the arena's seabirds breed on Ducie Island, together with approximately 3,000 pairs of Christmas shearwaters, accounting for approximately 5% of the worldwide population.
The lagoon inside Ducie Island is domestic to around 138 species of fish, also determined within the southeastern Pacific, western Pacific, and Indian Ocean. The lagoon is understood for its toxic fish and dangerous sharks. Species, together with yellow-edged triggerfish, blackfin grouper, and oilfish, can cause ciguatera poisoning. Galapagos sharks and whitetip reef sharks additionally inhabit the lagoon. Galapagos sharks can be unsafe to humans, even as whitetip sharks are hardly ever aggressive except when provoked.
Lizards observed on Ducie Island consist of the white-bellied gecko (Emoia cyanura) photographed by EH Quayle in 1922. Specimens of mourning geckos and white-bellied geckos had been determined by the Pitcairn Islands Scientific Expedition in 1991.
How to Get to Ducie Island
Ducie Island is part of the Pitcairn Islands and is one of the most far-off islands in the world. To reach Ducie Island, you'll first need to journey to the Pitcairn Islands. Since Pitcairn lacks an airport and there are just too many ways from nearby islands for helicopters to reach, the only way to get there is by boat.
It would be best if you flew to Australia or New Zealand first, then took a ship at once to Pitcairn Island. From there, you could get a ship from locals in Adamstown to attain Ducie Island. More statistics on cruise schedules may be determined on the Pitcairn website: https://www.visitpitcairn.pn/pitcairn-island-cruise-ship-schedule
Additionally, Ocean Voyages occasionally offers chartered trips, but the cruising expenses are exceedingly excessive.