A giant bulk carrier ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius on July 25. Fuel is leaking from the ship and impacting the island nation’s marine ecosystem.
The ship is still stuck on a reef to the southeast of the island, according to Splash24.
The public, fishermen and boat operators have been ordered by local authorities not to visit the beach and lagoon of Blue Bay, Mahebourg and Pointe d’Esny according to Splash24.
The boat is owned by a Japanese company called Nagashiki Shipping. It was on its way to Brazil from China when it hit the reef. Its last port of call was Singapore, according to the Minister of Environment, Kavydass Ramano.
Ramano said in a statement that the ship is 300m in length and 50m in diameter. The ship is carrying 3894 metric tons of low-sulphur fuel oil, 207 metric tons of diesel and 90 metric tons of lubricant oil. He explained that there are 20 crew onboard and no cargo.
Reunion is in the process of helping Mauritius clean up the spill according to Bloomberg.
Images of the azure waters discolouring from the oil have been shared on social media.
Giant bulk carrier runs aground on reef off Mauritius on Saturday evening, despite warnings from the local coast guard that the ship was travelling too near the shore. The Panamanian-flagged vessel belongs to Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping and was heading from China to Brazil pic.twitter.com/ggXzUo8roJ
— Mauritius Island (@MauritiusGuide) July 27, 2020
Two weeks ago, a cargo ship ran aground in our lagoon, right by Blue Bay, a protected Marine Park.
Today, the ship is flooding the lagoon with oil. pic.twitter.com/JAC4w4f6Wu
— Ariel Saramandi (@Ariel_Saramandi) August 6, 2020
Oil Spill in Mauritius just now. Japanese Tanker was stuck on the reef there for several days/weeks. Despite public worry and outcry, the gov in place assured that it was empty and did nothing. Now its too late. The Blue Bay marine park ecosystem in grave danger. @BBCWorld pic.twitter.com/fTQkwENNvy
— pitioupatow (@Maxwell_005) August 6, 2020
The oil spill from the bulk carrier #Wakashio has reached the shores of Ile aux Aigrettes, an islet off the South East Coast of Mauritius. #Wakashio #Mauritius #ecologicaldisaster pic.twitter.com/z6W8OEFH66
— Oumme Sakina (@oummesakina) August 6, 2020
Image credit: Twitter/ @Ariel_Saramandi
