This satellite image of the document shows the tanker MV Wakashio beached off Mauritius.
Port Louis, Mauritius:
The Prime Minister of Mauritius has declared a state of environmental emergency and appealed to France for urgent assistance as oil from a stranded cargo ship has relentlessly spilled into the island nation’s protected waters.
Stormy seas have hampered efforts to prevent fuel leaks from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which ran aground two weeks ago, and is polluting crystal-clear waters in an ecologically critical marine area off the southeast coast .
“A state of environmental emergency has been declared,” Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on his Twitter account on Friday.
The tanker, owned by a Japanese company but flying the Panamanian flag, was carrying 3,800 tons of fuel when it struck a reef at Pointe d’Esny, an international listed conservation site near the turquoise waters of Blue Bay Marine Park.
The Environment Ministry announced this week that oil had started to leak from the hull, as volunteers rushed to the coast to prepare for the worst.
Soon, oil slipped off the coral reefs, lagoons and white sand beaches on which Mauritius has built its reputation as a green tourism destination. Aerial images showed the extent of the damage, with huge expanses of azure seas colored inky black by the spill.
A spokesman for Mitsui OSK Lines, which operates the vessel owned by another Japanese company, said fuel was being transported by helicopter from the stricken bulk carrier to shore but bad weather made matters worse.
Evacuated crew
“We have tried to place a containment boom near the ship but it is not working well due to the strong waves,” the spokesperson told AFP in Tokyo on Saturday. Some of the fuel was in separate tanks and may not be at risk of leaking, he added.
Jugnauth, after visiting the site of the disaster, expressed fears that the crisis could worsen with poor weather forecasts over the weekend, and appealed urgently for help.
“We don’t know what will happen to the boat,” he said.
“The sinking of the Wakashio represents a danger for Mauritius. Our country does not have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships, so I asked for help from France” and its president, Emmanuel Macron.
In a statement on Saturday, the French Embassy in Mauritius said that a military plane from Reunion Island, close to the French Indian Ocean, would make two rotations over the disaster area with control equipment. of pollution. Two experts are also said to be on board, the statement added.
Twenty crew members were safely evacuated from the ship when it ran aground on July 25.
Environmentalists fear the ship will break further, causing an even larger leak and inflicting potentially catastrophic damage to the island nation’s coastline, which is the backbone of Mauritius’ economy.
Mauritius mainly depends on its seas for food and for tourism, with some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
