Shipwreck in Mauritius: Bad weather exacerbated the disaster

The air recordings from Mauritius show of turquoise water and a coral reef foaming Spray, a red-black lacquered cargo ship listing to one side and a brownish oil Spill, the moving from the disabled vessel to the Islands. Now Pravind Jugnauth, the Prime Minister of the Indian ocean island state, has led to the environmental emergency to exclaim. Organizations like Greenpeace warn of "one of the worst environmental crises experienced by this small island state ever".

Thilo Thielke

Free Rapporteur for Africa, based in Cape town.

Before the East coast of the beautiful beaches and coral riffs, famous main island was on 25. July, the 300-metre-long Japanese merchant vessel Wakashio run aground. It was without cargo, but with 4200 tons of Oil on the way from Singapore to Brazil, as it ran out of so far unknown cause at the reef of Pointe d'esny on base, about 40 kilometers Southeast of the capital, Port Louis. The team could be brought to safety. Try the fuel pump out, but remained because of the bad weather, unsuccessfully.

Tank burst

On Thursday, the responsible Nagashiki Shipping co. stated that because of the "permanent wave shock in the past few days," be broken the Tank on the starboard side of the Panama-registered freighter. Since then, the Oil flows. In addition, the company apologized "deeply for the people in Mauritius, and the Concerned, that we have caused you so many problems". One of eleven technicians rescue team, which had been on the ship to stabilize it, had to be rescued after the collapse of the Tanks.

According to Deborah de Chazal, Executive Director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, is said to have lost the Wakashio already a quarter of their fuel. On Board around 3900 tonnes of low-sulphur heavy fuel oil, which is used as a fuel, 200 tons of Diesel and 90 tons of lubricating oil were located.

As in the immediate vicinity of the Unglücksorts ecologically sensitive areas such as the Pointe d'esny wetland area, or the Île-aux-Aigrettes nature reserve are, struck the head of government Jugnauth Alarm. "We do not have the Expertise and the experience to salvage stranded ships, which is why I have asked France to help," he tweeted to the French state, chief Emmanuel Macron. France said to help, and the military sent aircraft from the Overseas Department of La Réunion and vertex. The Indian government also offered help, even the Japanese, Americans, British. Well possible that the spread of the Oil can be brought under control. Experts hold a crowd of up to 20,000 tonnes of spilled fuel oil for subject to appeal.