December 23, 2024, 6:11 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Bouvet Island in the Atlantic Ocean is the loneliest island in the world. Located between South Africa and Antarctica, it is more than 1,500 kilometers from the nearest mainland. Nevertheless, in the past, several nations have laid claim to the uninhabited rock, which is almost completely covered in ice. Today, the island is only used for research purposes – and apparently in a strange way by tax fraudsters.
Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic stakes a claim as one of the most forsaken places on Earth. Located more than 1,500 kilometers from the nearest mainland, it is even considered the loneliest uninhabited island in the world. 49 square kilometers in size, it is almost completely covered by ice and glaciers. Although there is no human life here, it is home to thousands of penguins, seals, and seabirds, a unique fauna that has been specially protected as a nature reserve since 1971. Nevertheless, this icy outpost in the South Atlantic has an eventful and sometimes bizarre past.
According to “Atlas Obscura“, Bouvet Island was first discovered on January 1, 1739, by the French captain Jean-Baptiste Lozier Bouvet, after whom the barren spot is still named today. However, due to a miscalculation of its geographical location, it took almost 80 years for the Briton James Lindsay to find it again in 1808. As he assumed it was a different island, he named it Lindsay Island after himself. In 1825, a nation officially laid claim to the wasteland for the first time when the whaler Captain Norris discovered it for the third time, claimed it for the British Crown and renamed it Liverpool Island.
Only Animals Live Here Permanently
However, the Norwegians contested this claim, and on December 1, 1927, they landed on Bouvet Island and hoisted their national flag. They christened it Bouvetøya in their own language, and thus named it after the original discoverer. The name has stuck to this day because, according to the Norwegian Polar Institute, Great Britain renounced its claim to the island in 1929. The Scandinavians had intended it as a potential whaling port, but renounced any kind of hunting when they took possession of the island.
The local seal population was placed under strict protection in 1929. Today, thanks to these measures, it has grown to an estimated 65,000 animals. There are also almost 5,000 penguins. There is no permanent human life here, but the island is sometimes used by Norwegian and international scientists for research purposes. The only indication that humans have ever set foot on land here is a meteorological station. There, up to six people could live for two to four months. Occasionally, cruise agencies also feature this loneliest island in the world in their itineraries.
Mysterious Incidents
It is all the more astonishing that Bouvet Island has been the backdrop for several mysterious incidents in the past. In 1964, for example, an abandoned boat was discovered here containing numerous supplies. However, there is still no trace of the crew. Even more mysterious is an event from 1979, which went down in history as the “Vela incident”. On September 22 of that year, a US satellite called Vela recorded a bright, double flash of light between Bouvet Island and the Prince Edward Islands, which belong to South Africa. This event is still the subject of the wildest speculation.
Such flashes of light as those observed that day are typically indicative of a nuclear explosion. It is assumed that this could have been a top-secret nuclear bomb test carried out jointly by Israel and South Africa. However, an investigation commission set up by the US was unable to provide any conclusive evidence of this. Both nations deny the incident and their involvement to this day. The fact is, however, that South Africa pushed ahead with the development of its own nuclear weapon in the 1970s. In March 1975, Israel also negotiated the purchase of such weapons with the state.
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Tax Fraudsters and an Internet Domain
Yet, in recent years, Bouvet Island has captured headlines with another bizarre tale. As the Australian news site “ABC” reports, some citizens of the continent apparently declared the lonely rock as their permanent residence on their tax returns. According to the report, money to the value of 2.5 million dollars was declared as belonging to people living there. The sub-Antarctic McDonald Islands, which belong to Australia, and Heard Island were apparently also misused for such tax frauds.
Adding to the island’s quirks, Bouvet Island also boasts its own internet domain. It actually has the ending “.bv”. According to the official Norwegian internet register Norid, this was registered back in 1997. But has never been used to date. Thus, one might whimsically, yet appropriately, describe the domain as the loneliest in the world. In the spirit of the island after which it is named. Bouvet Island is located 2,400 kilometers from South Africa and 1,600 kilometers from Antarctica in the South Atlantic. This makes it the loneliest uninhabited island in the world.