Do everything to avoid reliving a disaster.
Seven months after one of the worst pollution in the history of its coasts, Mauritius is mobilizing: a trawler containing 130 tonnes of fuel oil ran aground on the shore of Pointe-aux-Sables, near the capital on Sunday Mauritian Port-Louis.
Coast guards and soldiers had been active for several hours this Monday morning.
The captain of the Lurong Yuan Yu, a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, "issued distress calls on Sunday around 5:38 pm" (8:38 pm French time), Mauritian Fisheries Minister Sudheer Maudhoo told reporters on Sunday evening.
Residents also saw distress flares fired by the ship, stranded near the shore on a reef in Pointe-aux-Sables, in the northwest of the island.
Read also> Oil spill in Mauritius: corals and mangroves threatened in the long term
"The first measure is to pump all fuel on board," said the minister on Sunday, adding that the fishing boat did not contain any cargo but 130 tonnes of fuel oil and 5 tonnes of lubricants for its engine.
At daybreak, 300 meters of floating socks were deployed around the boat to prevent any pollution.
This Monday, a trace of oil was located in the sea. It is expected that the divers inspect the hull of the trawler to identify a possible leak.
The water depth near the reefs is only 2.5 to 4 meters, making it difficult for the assistance barges to approach.
At a press conference on Monday, Minister Sudeer Maudhoo said that it would take four to five hours to pump all the oil aboard the Lurong Yuan Yu, and that water samples had been sent to the laboratory for testing. .
A rescue disrupted by the strong swell
Sunday afternoon, Mauritian fishermen went to meet stranded sailors to rescue them, but a strong swell, caused by tropical storm Iman, prevented crossing the coral reef, according to Le Mauricien.
The rescuers failing either, it is finally the helicopter of the Mauritian police which evacuated the sailors, fourteen Chinese, a Filipino and an Indonesian.
All in good health, they were taken to the Central Police Barracks in Port Louis, subjected to an anti-Covid test and placed in quarantine pending the results.
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Oil spill on Mauritius
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We make buoys with the hair and feathers of guinea fowl
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The Mauritian authorities are all the more vigilant since last July, a Japanese bulk carrier ran aground on a coral reef near the tip of Esny, on the southeast coast.
The MV Wakashio contained 3,800 tonnes of fuel oil and 200 tonnes of diesel, which quickly started to leak but were mostly pumped out.
The case had aroused the disarray and the wrath of Mauritians, exasperated by the corruption and nepotism scandals that punctuate Mauritian politics, in particular in the context of the fight against Covid-19.
On August 29, a demonstration brought together between 50,000 and 75,000 people in Port Louis to denounce the management of the oil spill by the government of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
Such a gathering had not been seen since 1982.
The dismantling of the MV Wakashio is nearing completion.
The fuel cleaning operations have been completed, her bow and hull have been sunk offshore.
But the anger remains despite the promises of the Mitsui company to pay 8 million euros in compensation.
