The crew of the yacht Maiken recently reported on their weblog that they had spotted a new volcanic island southwest of Vava’u. Having left Vava’u en route to Fiji at the start of August, they observed vast belts of floating pumice which were so thick they eventually had to turn back as the pumice blocked their engine cooling system.
The next day they spotted an active volcanic island, about one mile across, with four peaks and actively spouting lava and ashes.
A Tongan fishing boat also reported seeing the volcanic island near Home Reef. There has as yet been no official confirmation.