Rescue teams began on Thursday the process of sinking the bow of the bulk carrier off Mauritius, which ran aground on a reef off the coast of the Indian Ocean island at the end of July, releasing oil and causing disaster. ecological.
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Beached on July 25 on a reef at Pointe d'Esny, in the south-east of Mauritius, with 3,800 tonnes of fuel oil and 200 tonnes of diesel on board, the MV Wakashio broke in two on Sunday, after a race against time to pump the fuel it still contained. The ship let escape between 800 and 1000 tons of fuel oil from its gutted sides, which soiled the coasts, in particular protected areas sheltering mangrove forests and endangered species, and the crystal clear waters which attract many tourists.
Two tugs have towed most of the wreckage about 15 km offshore, in the open sea, where it is to be sunk to a depth of 3,180 meters. The smaller part remains stranded on the reef. " The scuttling of the Wakashio is underway, " the Ministry of Fisheries said in a statement.
Worst option
The national crisis committee confirmed in a statement that the immersion of the boat had started around 4 p.m. local time and indicated that " the person in charge of the rescue operations ensured that all the hydraulic oil as well as all the floating debris had been removed from the vessel ". According to the authorities, the location of the immersion of the ship - whose owner and shipowner are Japanese - was decided after a wide consultation of experts and conservationists. " It will now be filled with sea water so that it sinks to the bottom " which could take several hours, the director of maritime affairs, Alain Donat, told AFP.
Happy Khambule, of Greenpeace Africa, said in a statement that sinking the ship was the worst option: “ Sinking this ship takes risks to biodiversity and contaminates the ocean with significant amounts of toxic heavy metals, threatening others. areas as well, particularly the French island of Réunion ”. “ The Mauritians had nothing to gain from the passage of the MV Wakashio in their waters and are now being asked to pay the price for this disaster. More pollution is jeopardizing their tourism-based economy and their fishing-based food security , ”he added.
The ship's captain and his mate were arrested on Thursday, but the reasons why the ship, which was en route from Singapore to Brazil, passed so close to the coast of Mauritius have not yet been revealed.
