South Sentinel Island


South Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is long northeast to southwest and up to wide. At only, it is much smaller than its counterpart North Sentinel Island and of significantly less interest.
The island belongs to the Port Blair tehsil in the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, neighboring North Sentinel Island.

Geography

South Sentinel is west-northwest of Little Andaman Island in the south of the Andaman chain but south of its counterpart North Sentinel Island. From the limited information available it can be said that South Sentinel Island is a forested coral reef. From a journal written in the 19th century, a Colonel Alcock who passed the island wrote " raised a few feet and continuous with the corals surrounding it".
The island lies southwest from Port Blair.
It lies immediately south of the passage.
The island is 44m high to the tops of the trees and level topped. Its appearance is much the same on all bearings. A bank, as defined by the 36m curve, surrounds the island and extends about 6 miles NW from it. Considerable depths exist in the channel between this island and Little Andaman Island.

Administration

Politically, South Sentinel Island is part of Little Andaman Taluk.
In 2018, Government of India excluded 29 islands – including the South Sentinel from the Restricted Area Permit regime, until 31 December 2022 – in a major effort to boost tourism here. In November 2018, however, the government's Home ministry stated that the relaxation of the prohibition was intended only to allow researchers and anthropologists, with pre-approved clearance, to visit the Sentinel islands.

Demographics

The island is uninhabited but is sometimes used by diving expeditions on account of its remoteness and novelty factor.

Fauna

The South Sentinel Island Sanctuary is home to coconut crabs.