The ship spilled over 1,000 tonnes of oil in Mauritius’ blue waters
Port Louis, Mauritius:
Mauritian authorities on Tuesday arrested the Indian captain of a wrecked Japanese ship off the coast of the island nation, spewing tons of oil into crystal-clear waters, police said.
The MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on July 25 and began to ooze oil more than a week later, dumping more than 1,000 tonnes into the blue waters popular with honeymooners and tourists.
Authorities have yet to reveal why the ship, which was on its way from Singapore to Brazil, had come so close to the island, which is now reeling from an environmental disaster.
“We arrested the captain and his second in command today. They were brought to trial on a provisional charge. The investigation continues from tomorrow with the questioning of other crew members,” said the spokesperson for Inspector Shiva Coothen.
The captain, an Indian citizen, and his deputy, who is Sri Lankan, have been charged under the Piracy and Maritime Violence Act and will reappear in court on August 25.
Rescue teams managed to pump some 3,000 tonnes of fuel from the bulk carrier before it split in two on Sunday, averting a much larger environmental disaster.
On Tuesday, they began towing the larger of the two pieces of the Wakashio into the open ocean where it is to be sunk. The part containing the engine room remains wedged on the coral reef.
‘Delicate operation’
“We are engaged in a delicate operation,” the director of maritime operations Alain Donat told AFP.
“We want to take advantage of the high tide to pull it out little by little. This part of the boat is 225 meters long and 50 meters wide.”
He said the ship would be pulled nearly 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the coral reef and sunk.
The decision to sink the boat was taken on Monday in consultation with French experts who were sent to help Mauritius.
“Since most of the oil has been extracted and the amount of oil remaining is small, the impact of the operation on the environment is expected to be limited,” an official from the Japan International Cooperation Agency said. , member of a team which is also helping Maurice following the disaster.
Japan said on Monday it would send a second team of seven experts to help clean up the spill, after sending an initial team of six.
The new team, which leaves on Wednesday, will bring special oil-absorbent materials donated by a Tokyo-based company.
“We want to help the local people who are struggling to eliminate oil,” said Yuki Takenoshita of M-TechX, who developed the polypropylene material that can absorb 1,200 liters of oil.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
