| Porthole 26 Sep 22

NEW destination alert!

Cruise line planners may want to think about putting an extra Pacific Ocean stop into future itineraries, after the appearance of a new island in Tonga.

Satellite imagery has captured the emergence of the small land mass after the eruption of an underwater volcano along Home Reef.

An update from Tonga Geological Services last week confirmed the island had an elevation of about 20m above sea level with an area of roughly four hectares.

As the eruption continues it’s likely to get even bigger – but an alternative is also possible, with NASA noting the volatile seismic environment in Tonga has previously created several new islands which ultimately returned to the sea after a few months.