Mauritius Oil spill 2020

 

Mauritius is a island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres off the south-east coast of the African continent. It is a biodiversity hotspot with a high concentration of plants and animals unique to the region.

The Mauritian marine environment is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles, according to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. 

Coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritian waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity.

The MV Wakashio oil spill occurred offshore of Pointe d'Esny, south of Mauritius, after the Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July 2020 .On 7 August, nearly two weeks after the shipwreck, the Mauritian government declared the incident a national emergency.

According to Maritime traffic voyage information, M V Wakashio was a cargo ship, which departed from Lianyungang port, China on 4 July, stopped in Singapore and was scheduled to reach Tubarao port, Brazil on 13 August.

She was containing 200 tonnes of diesel and 3,900 tonnes of fuel oil [petroleum residue obtained from crude oil ]. At the time of her grounding, Wakashio was flying under a Panamanian flag of convenience, despite her Japanese ownership.

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INCIDENT-

M V Wakashioran aground on the coral reef of Mauritius southeast coast on 25 July, but did not immediately begin leaking oil.Oil began to leak from the ship on 6 August, meanwhile, Mauritius authorities were trying to control the spill and minimize its effects, isolating environmentally sensitive areas of the coast, while waiting for help from foreign countries to pump out an estimated 3,890 tons of oil remaining on board. 

By 10 August, about 1,000 metric tons of fuel had spilled, with estimates of the remaining oil onboard ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 metric tons. High winds and 5 metres (16 ft) waves halted cleanup efforts on 10 August.Data from Finnish Iceye satellites indicated the spill had increased from 3.3 km2 on 6 August to 27 km2 on 11 August.

On 15 August, the ship broke up and there were 166 tons of fuel on board. The ship’s bow section was towed into the open ocean and scuttled on 24 August.

After the investigation, it was found out that the crew had been celebrating the birthday of a sailor on board at the time of grounding. The ship had sailed near the shore for a wi-fi signal. However, the local police denied the reports and later, arrested Capt. Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, an Indian National and Deputy Captain, on 18 August on suspicion of negligence in operating the ship.

It is the first reported oil spill of a new type of low- sulphur fuel that has been introduced to reduce air pollution. The spill has left a 15-kilometre stretch of the coastline- an internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot- smeared with oil.

AFTERMATH-

1. Clean up-

The island has limited resources to fight the spill. Emergency workers were able to pump almost 3,000 tonnes of fuel out of the ship before itspilled completely into the ocean. Floating booms, hand prepared with hair and hay by ocean workers and volunteers and laid out in the ocean, were used to contain the spill as much as possible.

One Indian Air Force’s C17 Globemaster and one Indian Navy ship have been sent with a 10-member response team from the Indian Coast Guard along with 30 tonnes of specialized equipment (including booms, skimmers, blowers, Graphene-based oil absorbent pads, etc.) to contribute towards the clean-up that are underway.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL) ordered 10,000 units of ‘Made-in-India’ Graphene oil adsorbent pads called as ‘Sorbene’ pads, and are being used in the cleanup operation. These special pads were supplied by Mumbai-headquartered clean-tech startup Log 9 Spill Containment Pvt. Ltd. 

Japan’ Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd decided to spent about 1 billion yen($9.42 million) to pay for measures to help Mauritius, including the clean-up of the mangrove forest. Mitsui OSK also planned to contribute about 800 million yen over several years to establish a Mauritius natural environment recovery fund and another 100 million yen to several local NGOs and local funds established by public agencies such as Mauritius government and United Nations.

As a result of combined efforts of various countries and local representatives, only around a quarter of the toxic fuel on the vessel leaked. Although this was enough to cause an environment catastrophe, the worst case scenario of the vessel breaking up and realizing all of its fuel was avoided.

2. Public protest-

Thousands of people in Mauritius protested amid the coronavirus pandemic over the government’s handling of the spill that ravaged the South-East coast of the county in what is being called one of the biggest protests the island nation has seen in recent years. 

After the initial wave of dead dolphin, the government revised the number of dead whales and dolphins, bringing the total up to 39.  Protesters were seen on the streets of the Mauritius’s capital city, Port Louis dressed in black and held drawings of dolphins and signs saying, “Citizens wake up citizens.” Others held signs that said, “Dolphin Lives Matter”.

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Unlike most previous offshore spills, this has taken place near two environmentally protected marine ecosystems and the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve, which is a wetland of international importance.

So, it's the location rather than the size of the spill which is causing greatest concern about its potentially serious environmental impact.

The stunning turquoise waters of the blue lagoon outside the coastal village of Mahébourg in Mauritius, the backdrop for numerous Bollywood movies, are now stained black and brown.

Mauritius is a biodiversity hotspot with a high concentration of plants and animals unique to the region.

"The wind and the water currents are not helping, they are taking the oil towards the areas that have vital marine ecosystems," Sunil Mokshananda, a former Greenpeace strategist, who is on an island near the oil-spill site, told the BBC.

The Mauritian marine environment is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles, according to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritian waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity.

"There are very few such marine areas with such rich biodiversity left on the planet. An oil spill like this will impact almost everything there," said DrCorinaCiocan, a senior lecturer in marine biology at the UK's University of Brighton.

"It is not just about the light oil slick you see on the surface of the water caused by the spill.

"There will also be soluble compounds from the oil that will dissolve in the water, a mousse-like layer underneath the surface of the water, and then very heavy residues on the bed - so the entire marine ecosystem will be affected."

There are fears that the oil may have infiltrated into the ecosystem of Ile aux Aigrettes. These toxic chemicals can potentially accumulate in the unique coral island's native plants and poison endemic invertebrates, birds and reptiles feeding on those plants. The petroleum can also cause genetic mutations in reptiles.

Oceanographer and environmental engineer Vassen K.said, "Around a little bit less than 50 percent of this lagoon is covered by environmentally sensitive areas, be it corals, be it seagrass, be it mangroves, be it entire mudflats, sand beaches and dunes, which is huge. Which confirms the sensitivity of this lagoon, in terms of oil spill."

 Scientists say that the spill was likely the worst environmental incident in the history of Mauritius, with effects possibly lingering for decades.

Many Dead Sea mammals washed up on local beaches in the days following the spill, and more have been found seriously ill. Among the dead animals are dolphins and melon-headed whales.

From 6 to 11 August, the spill expanded to over 26 square kilometres . The island's environment minister KavyRamano, together with the fisheries minister, told the press that it was the first time that the country faced a catastrophe of this magnitude, and that they were insufficiently equipped to handle the problem.

On 7 August, nearly two weeks after the shipwreck, the Mauritian government declared the incident a national emergency.

Many Dead Sea mammals washed up on local beaches in the days following the spill, and more have been found seriously ill. Among the dead animals are dolphins and melon-headed whales.

Compensation:

It's too early to say how much damage has been done — or how much money can be claimed back.

Under the 2001 Bunkers Convention — which limits liability to levels set out in the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) and its 1996 Protocol — compensation for pollution from a vessel the size of the MV Wakashio could be capped at about $65 million (€54 million), or even lower, at about $18 million. Since the oil came from a ship designed to transport solid cargo, Mauritius could be eligible for less than 2% of the maximum compensation available when an oil tanker is wrecked. If MV Wakashio had been an oil tanker, Mauritius would have been eligible for up to $1 billion in compensation under maritime law. 

This oil spill has greatly affected the nature-rich Mauritius on its source of income- the Fisheries and Tourism industries. No compensation can restore the damage the sticky oil has caused to the marine ecosystem and the surrounding biodiversity hotspots. Though the gradual effects of this spill have begin to show its outcome, the extent of the damage will be portrayed only in the times to come.