Neko Harbour

Neko Harbour

Neko Harbour is an inlet on the north-east side of Andvord Bay on the Danco Coast, part of the west coast of Graham Land in the British Antarctic Territory.

The inlet was roughly charted by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition on 12 February 1898. It was frequently used as an anchorage by the Christian Salvesen factory ship Neko from Leith, Midlothian: the Neko anchored here in most seasons from 1911-12 to 1915-16, and from 1918-19 to 1923-24. (The ship was lost in July 1924.) Neko Harbour was further charted by Ferguson in 1913 and named after the ship which frequented it.

An Argentine refuge hut was established on the south-east point of the harbour, probably by the tugboat Chiriguano, 9 March 1949. The hut was destroyed in 1951 but rebuilt in January 1952 for occasional occupation.

The harbour was photographed from the air by the Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition, 1956-57.

Glacier in Neko Harbour

Capitán Fliess Refuge

Capitán Fliess Refuge is an Argentine refuge on the shore of Neko Harbour. It refuge was opened on 4 April 1949 and it is managed by the Argentine Navy. It was inaugurated together with the Penguin Observatory and the Rescue Station under the name of 'Refugio Neko'. The name 'Capitán Fliess' pays tribute to Lieutenant Felipe Fliess of the Corvette Uruguay which rescued the Swedish Antarctic Expedition headed by Otto Nordenskjöld.

Important Bird Area (IBA)

Neko Harbour has been classified as an important bird and biodiversity area by BirdLife international because it supports a breeding colony of more than 250 breeding pairs of gentoo penguins that nest on the hill near the beach to avoid risk of being washed away by the large waves frequently generated from the calving of the nearby Glacier. southern giant petrels and south polar skuas also nest here. The area has been also used by Weddell seals which frequently haul out to rest.

Location

• Location map: 64°50’18"S, 62°31’58"W

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Neko Harbour)

• Tourism and the history of Antarctica Tourism
• Antarctica, Jeff Rubin (Lonely Planet), pp. 223 (ISBN 1740590945)

References

• Gazetteer and Map of The British Antarctic Territory: Neko Harbour