Ocean Harbour is a deeply indented bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 on the north coast of South Georgia which is entered 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west-northwest of Tijuca point

Tijuca Point

Tijuca Point is a prominent rock point forming the northwest side of the entrance to Hound Bay on the north coast of South Georgia. The name Penguin Point was probably applied to this feature by DI personnel who made a running survey of this coast in 1930. Following the SGS, 1951–52, it was...

. It was an active whaling station between 1909–1920. At one point, South Georgia was the whaling capital of the world.

The names New Fortune Bay and Neufortuna Bay, probably for the Fortuna, Norwegian-Argentine whaling vessel which participated in establishing the first permanent whaling station at Grytviken

Grytviken

Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...

, South Georgia in 1904-05, were used for this feature in 1922 by Filchner, following the German Antarctic Expedition, 1911-12. Following a survey of the island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 in 1951-52, the South Georgia Survey reported that the feature is known to whalers and sealers as Ocean Harbour, a name derived from the Ocean Whaling Co. which at one time had a station there. The name Ocean Harbour is approved for this feature on the basis of local usage, and also to avoid confusion of the name New Fortuna Bay with Fortuna Bay

Fortuna Bay

Fortuna Bay is a bay 3 miles long and 1 mile wide, entered between Cape Best and Robertson Point on the north coast of South Georgia. Named after the whaling expedition under C.A...

, only 22 miles (35.4 km) to the northwest.

History

Old sealing trypots can still be seen here, and there is also the wreck of the Bayard here, a 1300 tonne, 67 m (220 ft) long, iron hulled boat, built in 1864. It was moored at the cooling station at 1911, when a gale blew her loose across the bay. Ocean Harbour was the site of the first introduction of Reindeer

Reindeer in South Georgia

Reindeer in South Georgia are an example of an animal which has been introduced outside its native range. The reindeer, a species of deer adapted to arctic and subarctic climates, was introduced to the subantarctic island of South Georgia by Norwegian whalers in the early 20th century...

 to South Georgia by Norwegian whaling entrpreneur Carl Anton Larsen

Carl Anton Larsen

Carl Anton Larsen was a Norwegian Antarctic Explorer, who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils, for which he received the Back Grant from the Royal Geographical Society...

and his brother in November 1911.

Ocean Harbour has a small cemetery with eight graves including the oldest known grave on the island - that of Frank Cabrial (1820) of the sealer Francis Allen. The marker has gone though some of the others are still marked.