The sight of swathes of oil stretching across the pristine turqoise waters of the Indian Ocean around the island nation of Mauritius has enraged locals, who are battling to control the damage wreaked by the sinking and gradual decay of the MV Wakashio.
The Japanese-flagged oil tanker, which ran aground on a reef on Jult 25, has caused one of the worst environmental disasters to befall the Mauritius yet, as around a thousand tons of oil has spilled out into the water, threatening the livelihoods of thousands who rely on tourism and fishing in the region.
The extent of the damage is so great that is is visible from space.
New #satellite images of MV #Wakashio that ran aground off the coast of #Mauritius. The ship hit reefs near Pointe d’Esny on July 25. On today’s (Aug 7th) imagery, the ship is leaking a considerable amount of oil into the ocean & the oil slick is drifting northwest to the shore. pic.twitter.com/YZRJ1Cx35t
— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) August 7, 2020
Mauritius has declared a national emergency due to the spill. Thousands of locals and volunteers have been working round the clock to mop up the oil, with many donating hair so as to help soak up the oil, while others work on creating a floating boom to contain the spill.
We have been overwhelmed by the offers of assistance following the dreadful news that oil was spilling from Wakashio. If you wish to offer us any help, please check the details in the communiqué from our website here: https://t.co/fH9HdnWFXP pic.twitter.com/oft7nS70oE
— Mauritian Wildlife (@mwfWildlife) August 7, 2020
Worse, the crack in the tanker's hull appears to be widening. Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Monday said that the country must prepare for the worst after multiple cracks were observed on the hull.
“The salvage team has observed several cracks in the ship hull, which means that we are facing a very serious situation,” Jugnauth said, according to Reuters.
“We should prepare for a worst case scenario. It is clear that at some point the ship will fall apart," he added. The fear is that the remaining two of the ship's three oil tanks could also rupture and add to the environmental damage.
Reuters reported activists saying that dead eels and starfish had already been spotted in the water, killed from the oil.
The spill has attracted international attention. Former UK Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted, "Shocked at oil spill in Mauritius, where an environmental emergency has been declared. There must be a massive international response to support the clean up."
