Mauritius says almost all oil removed from damaged Japanese ship

[webfact]

Mauritius says almost all oil removed from damaged Japanese ship

By Omar Mohammed

 

A volunteer cleans oil spilled from the bulk carrier ship MV Wakashio, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, that ran aground on a reef, at the Mahebourg Waterfront in Riviere des Creoles, Mauritius, August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Antoine

 

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Mauritius' Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said on Wednesday nearly all remaining oil had been removed from a damaged Japanese ship, which leaked about 1,000 tonnes in a threat to tourism already hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

"At the time I'm talking to you, almost all the oil has been removed from the ship," Jugnauth told reporters, according to remarks shared by his office.

All fuel had been removed from tanks, but there was some residue in parts of the ship, his office added.

 

Tourist operators fear the spill will further damage businesses already reeling from the epidemic and could cost jobs if pristine beaches are spoiled.

 

Tourism generated 63 billion rupees ($1.6 billion) for the economy last year. In May, the central bank said that in the past two months alone, the nation had lost 12 billion rupees in foreign exchange due to the fall in tourism.

 

"It is really going to affect the communities down there, especially for the fisherman, the local guys that live there, you know that's how they make money from tourists," said Willow River-Tonkin, who owns a kite-surfing business.

 

Most of the fuel left on a Japanese bulk carrier that has leaked an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil off the Mauritius coast has been pumped off, ship owner Nagashiki Shipping said on Wednesday. Emer McCarthy reports.

 

"Taking them out to go diving, to go snorkelling, to go wakeboarding, to go see dolphins and all that sort of thing you know, and all of that is going to affect it, if we don't get it under control very soon."

 

The MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, struck a reef and went aground off the Indian Ocean island's southeast coast on July 25.

 

It began leaking oil last Thursday.

 

Romina Tello, the 30-year-old founder of sustainable tourism agency Mauritius Conscious, said border closures due to the coronavirus had already battered tourism.

 

Mauritius shut its borders on March 19 and has had only 344 cases of COVID-19, with 10 deaths.

 

The southeast coast where the oil spill happened is famous for snorkelling, kite surfing, sailing, sea flora and fauna, Tello said. "We are trying to activate domestic tourism. But now, it is impossible for me to recommend for people to travel to the southeast coast due to the smell and they can't swim because of the spill," she told Reuters.

 

(Reporting by Omar Mohammed, Nazanine Moshiri and Katharine Houreld in Nairobi; Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Cawthorne)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-13

 

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[steven100]

They could have looked at removing the cargo weeks ago as soon as it ran aground, but the owners obviously delayed and delayed any salvage to minimize risk. They failed and now the result is as always,  reef destruction and habitat desecrated ....   sadly this happens all to often and it seems no one ever learns from it.    

[Tug]

I agree imo thease companies (their insurance)should be held accountable 

[pacovl46]

13 hours ago, steven100 said:

They could have looked at removing the cargo weeks ago as soon as it ran aground, but the owners obviously delayed and delayed any salvage to minimize risk. They failed and now the result is as always,  reef destruction and habitat desecrated ....   sadly this happens all to often and it seems no one ever learns from it.    

I agree, they should tried to remove the oil as quickly as possible, but how does delaying removing the oil minimize risk and which risk do you mean? 
 

 

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, pacovl46 said:

I agree, they should tried to remove the oil as quickly as possible, but how does delaying removing the oil minimize risk and which risk do you mean? 
 

 

Financial risk, it would have been a lot cheaper if they could have freed her from the reef.

[steven100]

11 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

I agree, they should tried to remove the oil as quickly as possible, but how does delaying removing the oil minimize risk and which risk do you mean? 
 

 

I should have said '  the owners failed to minimize any risk as they continued to delay and delay.

 

[steven100]

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

Financial risk, it would have been a lot cheaper if they could have freed her from the reef.

it is always about the cost involved,  that's why the owners did nothing as they were just hoping that magically the ship would be ok ....   they didn't want to spend money  . 

[pacovl46]

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

Financial risk, it would have been a lot cheaper if they could have freed her from the 

It should be mandatory in those cases to do what’s best for the environment immediately instead of minimizing the financial burden!!!

[jak2002003]

17 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

It should be mandatory in those cases to do what’s best for the environment immediately instead of minimizing the financial burden!!!

Of course, but we have to remember we are dealing with some selfish human beings here..  and there seems to be more people like that than people with morals and a conscience.