History
The island was first sighted in 1820 by the Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who named the island for his ship Vostok (the name means "East" in Russian). Vostok was claimed under the Guano Act of 1856, but was never mined for phosphate. It is unknown whether the island has ever been inhabited at all, though the presence of rats suggests that ancient Polynesians might have visited there, at least. No evidence of permanent settlement has ever been discovered.
Vostok formed part of the British Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, until becoming a part of newly-independent Kiribati in 1979. American claims on the island were vacated in the Treaty of Tarawa in that same year.
Vostok Island is currently designated as the Vostok Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Its isolated nature means it is rarely visited, save by the occasional scientist or yachter. Passengers aboard the Ocean Princess see it on the ships route from French Polynesia to Hawaii. Landing is said to be difficult, and no harbor or anchorage exists.
Read more about this topic: Vostok Island
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