A cargo ship leaking tons of oil off the Mauritius coast has split in two

CNN Wire

5 years ago

An aerial view taken on August 15, 2020 shows the vessel MV Wakashio, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged that had run aground near Blue Bay Marine Park, Mauritius three weeks ago. - A fresh streak of oil spilled on August 14, 2020, from a ship stranded on a reef in pristine waters off Mauritius, threatening further ecological devastation as demands mount for answers as to why the vessel had come so close to shore. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) / The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by STRINGER has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: Source IPTC should read [AFP] instead of [L'Express Maurice]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

(CNN) — A ship that has leaked tons of oil off the coast of Mauritius has split apart, authorities said on Saturday.

“At around 4:30 p.m., a major detachment of the vessel’s forward section was observed,” the National Crisis Committee of Mauritius said in statement.

The Japanese-owned ship, MV Wakashio, ran aground at Pointe d’Esny in late July and began leaking tons of oil into a pristine Indian Ocean lagoon last week.

A massive clean-up operation involving thousands of local volunteers had been underway. But a crack inside the hull of the ship expanded earlier this week, according to the ship’s operator Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a Japanese company.

Tal Harris, a communications coordinators for Greenpeace Africa International, told CNN that authorities have “decreed the area a forbidden zone” and volunteers have been asked to ceased activities.

Earlier this week, Sunil Dowarkasing, a former strategist for Greenpeace International and former member of parliament in Mauritius, told CNN that one of the ship’s three oil tanks had already leaked into the ocean and crews were attempting to remove the oil from the other tanks before the ship broke up.

It’s unclear how much oil was removed before Saturday. Earlier this week, the operator, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, said about 1,180 metric tons of oil had leaked from the vessel’s fuel tank — with about 460 tons manually recovered from the sea and coast. The ship was carrying about 3,800 tons of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil and 200 tons of diesel oil, according to the operator.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth had declared a state of environmental emergency.

“We are in a situation of environmental crisis,” Kavy Ramano, the country’s environment minister, had said.

The spill is close to two environmentally protected marine ecosystems and the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve. Nearby are a number of popular tourist beaches and mangrove plantations.

The MV Wakashio was on its way from China to Brazil when it ran aground on the reef on July 25.