Caribbean volcano Kick 'em Jenny: Ships warned off area

Ships sailing in the Caribbean have been told to steer clear of an underwater volcano after it started showing increased seismic activity.

The volcano, called Kick 'em Jenny, is located 8km (5 miles) off Grenada.

The government of Grenada has imposed a 5km exclusion zone around Kick 'em Jenny after the alert was raised to orange, which means an eruption could take place within 24 hours.

Seismologists said there was no imminent danger to the region.

Prof Richard Robertson, of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (SRC) in Trinidad, said there was no indication that the increased seismic activity would generate a tsunami.

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He explained that while an eruption was likely, it would probably not produce enough material to dislodge large amounts of water.

But he warned marine operators to stay outside the exclusion zone, as an increase in gases could reduce the buoyancy of ships.

The volcano is on the shipping route from St Vincent to Grenada.

Kick 'em Jenny, which rises 1.3km above the seafloor on a steep slope of the Lesser Antilles ridge, is one of the most active volcanoes in the eastern Caribbean.

It has erupted at least a dozen times since its first recorded eruption in 1939 but has not caused any reported deaths.

In 1939, a 270m-high ash cloud shot up from the sea's surface when Kick 'em Jenny erupted.