Huge oil spill from a tanker in Mauritius!

The paradise of Mauritius is on the brink of an environmental disaster! On 26 July, the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground there and quickly began leaking fuel oil it was carrying. The scale of the damage is not yet known, but the media are talking about a real tragedy.

The 300-metre-long vessel ran aground last Sunday and an oil spill was noticed shortly afterwards. The Panama-registered vessel was carrying 200 tonnes of diesel and 3800 tonnes of fuel oil. The crew was evacuated.

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For days, the Mauritian authorities repeated that the situation was under control. However, when it became clear that oil was leaking from the ship, the authorities of the island state reported that, due to rough seas, all attempts to stabilise Wakashio had failed. The oil could not be pumped out either and the situation became dramatic.

The grounding occurred at a site known as Pointe d’Esny, which is listed under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, near the Blue Bay Marine National Park. Environmentalists fear that the ship may break, which would cause an even bigger spill and irreversible damage to the environment.

“This is the first time we have faced such a disaster and we are not equipped enough to deal with it ourselves,” -said Fisheries Minister Sudheer Maudhoo

The government of Mauritius has requested assistance from the French island of La Reunion, which is nearby.

^{Source: GCaptain}