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Jean Mary Garrett
The oil spill has caused a Mauritius environmental disaster
Authorities hope to complete the pumping of the remaining oil from the ship that caused an enormous oil spill off the coast of Mauritius on Wednesday.
The goal is to bring the fuel oil ashore before Japanese-owned MV Wakashio breaks down.
The ship, thought to be carrying 4,000 tons of fuel oil, ran aground on July 25 on a coral reef.
Mauritius is home to the world famous coral reefs, and tourism is a crucial part of its economy.
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Fuel was transferred to the coast by helicopter and to another ship owned by the same Japanese company, Nagashiki Shipping.
France has sent a military aircraft with pollution control equipment from its nearby island of Réunion, while Japan has sent a team of six members to help the French efforts.
The Coast Guard of Mauritius and several police units are also on site in the southeast of the island.
What do the authorities say?
Police Chief Khemraj Servansing told the media that cracks in the ship were “constantly increasing”.
“It’s hard to say when it will break, but we have a tree deployment plan with the French navy helping and we have made facilities for high seas,” he said.
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It was “very likely” that the pumping operation would be shut down on Wednesday, Mr Servansing added.
“I can say that a large amount of oil has been pumped and 700 tons are still on board,” police said.
The MV Wakashio ran aground at Pointe d’Esny, a famous sanctuary for rare game. The area also contains wetlands designated as a site of international interest by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
How bad is the spillage?
On Friday, Mauritanian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared a state of emergency and called for international aid.
Since then, volunteers have also been collecting straw from fields and filling sacks to make sheds against the oil.
Others have made their own tubes with tights and hair to add to the hassle, and some have cleaned the beaches of the island.
Their actions went against an order from the government asking people to leave the driveway to local authorities.
Greenpeace Africa has warned that “thousands of” animal species “were at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for the economy, food security and health of Mauritius”.
An oceanographer and environmental engineer in Mauritius, Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, told the BBC that locals were now “breathing heavy fumes of oil”, and that there was a “mixture of sadness and anger” over the spill.
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AFP
Volunteers try to limit the damage
It has also led to political ratification in Mauritius, reports the BBC’s Yasine Mohabuth from the island of the Indian Ocean.
The opposition is demanding answers from the government over the oil spill, while community activists are calling for the dismissal of senior ministers, including Environment Minister Kavy Ramano.
Akihiko Ono, the executive vice president of the ship’s operator, Mitsui OSK Lines, has “professionally” apologized for the game and for “the major problems we have caused”.
He promised that the company “would do everything in its power to solve the problem”.
Police in Mauritius say they have been given a search, which allows them to board the ship to remove items of interest such as the ship’s log to assist in an investigation. The ship’s captain will assist officers in their search.
