The Republic of Mauritius is seeking payment from the owners of a Japanese ship. The now-stranded vessel spilled oil in the shallow waters off the Indian Ocean island nation. Workers must pump out the remaining fuel in a race against tides and time.
So far, the MV Wakashio has spilled 1,000 tons of oil into the sea along the coastline of Mauritius. The fouled area includes Pointe d’Esny, a sanctuary for rare wildlife.
Workers have already pumped about 2,500 tons of fuel from the ship. They’re racing to empty the ship before it breaks up in heavy seas and further pollutes the shore and a coral reef.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth says Mauritius will seek money for the environmental damage from Nagashiki Shipping. He has declared the oil spill a national disaster.
Jugnauth’s government is under pressure to explain why it waited to take action after the ship ran aground on July 25. After two weeks of pounding by waves, the ship cracked and began leaking.
Some of the turquoise waters surrounding Mauritius turned a muddy black. The oil stained mangrove wetlands and drenched waterbirds and reptiles with sticky oil.
Thousands of Mauritians have worked for days to reduce the damage. They’re using fabric stuffed with straw and sugar cane leaves to try to stop the oil’s spread. They have scooped up nearly 400 tons of oil from the sea.
France sent a naval ship, military aircraft, and technical advisors from the nearby island of Reunion after Mauritius asked for help last week. Japanese experts have arrived on the island and are assisting the effort.
The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation worries that the oil spill will ruin the work it has done to restore that area, says foundation spokesperson Jean Hugue Gardenne.
“We have planted about 200,000 indigenous trees to restore the coastal forest. We re-introduced endangered birds, including the pink pigeon, the olive white-eye, and the critically endangered Mauritius fody,” Gardenne says. “Now all this is threatened as the oil is seeping into the soil and the coral reefs.”
(Oil leaks from the MV Wakashio, a ship that ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius. Gwendoline Defente, EMAE via AP)
