The ship that caused the oil spill on the island of Mauritius breaks in two

The Japanese ship MV Wakashio, which last weekend caused a spill of about 1,000 tons of oil in the southeast of the island of Mauritius, has broken into two parts this Saturday. The Government assured on Wednesday that practically all the fuel had already been extracted from the interior of the cargo ship, which ran aground on July 25, although the ecological catastrophe had already occurred: about 15 kilometers of paradisiacal coastline in which there is a lagoon, mangroves and a maritime park were flooded with chapapote despite the efforts of thousands of volunteers to prevent it.

It was one of the government's fears and this Saturday it happened. The MV Wakashio, which was sailing under the Panamanian flag from China to Brazil when it ran aground on a coral reef off the coast of the island of Mauritius, has broken into two parts. A week ago, the authorities had already warned of the existence of large cracks in the hull, which precipitated the oil extraction work. The ship was carrying about 4,000 tons, of which 1,000 were dumped last weekend and at least 2,500 were removed.

“It is possible that 166 tonnes of oil still remained inside the ship, but it is difficult to know,” says Sunil Mokshanand Dowarkasing, environmental advisor to the Government of Mauritius. The oil extraction was carried out by pumping from the tanks to other ships alongside it or to helicopters when sea conditions were not favorable. The Executive has prohibited access to the area affected by the spill, even to the volunteers who last weekend were busy cleaning chapapote in the mangrove swamp and the coast despite the high toxicity of this substance.

The MV Wakashio oil spill is already considered one of the worst ecological catastrophes in the recent history of this island located in the Indian Ocean. From the place where the ship ran aground, at Pointe d'Esny, the black stain has been spreading northwards, reaching Bois de Amourettes. The government declared a state of environmental emergency a week ago and received aid from the French government, containment material and personnel, sent from the nearby island of Reunion. The Mitsui OSK Lines shipping company, which used the transport ship, apologized and was involved in the oil extraction tasks.

Scientists believe that it will take decades for biodiversity to fully recover. Engineer Vassen Kauppaymuthoo explained that some species will never recover. The Isla de las Garcetas, where there is a biological station, and the Bahía Azul marine park, which has 38 types of coral and 78 species of fish, have also been affected. "It is a massive poisonous blow to the system," environmentalist Adam Moolna told Reuters, "this oil will cascade through the webs of life."