The remaining oil in the MV Wakashio ship which went aground on the coast of Mauritius while carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil has become difficult to extract due to bad weather conditions.
According to reports by the crisis committee in Mauritius, the rough seas have made it too risky to remove the remaining oil from the ship which spilled hundreds of tonnes of the fuel off the coast.
The National Crisis Management Committee in Mauritius said,
“Due to the adverse weather conditions, it is still risky to remove the remaining small amount of residual oil in the engine room but oil pumping operations should resume as soon as the weather permits.”
The Split
Over the weekend the ship which was already causing an ecological emergency, split into two with rear parts remaining stranded on the reef.
About 90 tonnes of the fuel was believed to be on board in the engine room when the vessel split.
The National Crisis Committee of Mauritius said in statement that around 4.30 pm on Saturday, a major detachment of the vessel’s forward section was observed.
The Japanese-owned MV Wakashio has already leaked about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the uniquely biodiversity-rich marine ecosystem.
The Japanese firm Nagashiki Shipping has pledged to respond to requests for compensation by the Mauritius as they earlier said they will seek compensation for the leak from the owner and the insurer.
According to Japan’s foreign Ministry, a team of experts from Japan are also set to arrive in Mauritius on Wednesday to help with the clean-up.
Clean Up Efforts
Earlier this month, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared a state of emergency and appealed for international help.
Volunteers took the matter into their own hands, filling sacks with straw to make barriers against the oil – despite orders from the government to leave the operation to the authorities.
On Monday, around 416 cubic meters of the homemade barriers – called booms – were collected and found to be saturated with oil. The amount of oil spilt is relatively low compared with the big spills the world has seen in the past.
However, 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.
According to reports also, the removed fuel has been transferred to shore by helicopter and to another ship owned by the same Japanese firm.
Ship Captain Arrested
It has also been reported that the captain of the ship that spilled hundreds of tonnes of oil off the coast of Mauritius has been arrested.
Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, a 58-year-old Indian man, was charged with endangering safe navigation.
Mr Nandeshwar made an appearance in the district court in the capital Port Louis to hear the charges and will be held in a police cell until he returns to court on 25 August.
Police said crew members questioned as part of their investigation informed them there had been a birthday party on the ship the day it ran aground.
