Mauritius braces for break-up of Japanese ship that caused massive oil spill
- Salvage teams have been working to pump out the oil remaining on the ship after some 1,000 tonnes leaked into reef off the country’s coast
- Coastguard vessels were being positioned near the vessel and the booms have been deployed to absorb oil
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Japanese oil tanker off Mauritius coast breaks up
A ship that has leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of oil in pristine waters off the Mauritius coast appeared to be breaking apart Saturday.
The Japanese-owned MV Wakashio struck the reef on July 25 and began oozing oil one week later, threatening a protected marine park boasting mangrove forests and endangered species.
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Drone footage shows oil leaking from Japanese tanker off Mauritius threatening ecological disaster
Mauritius declared an environmental emergency last week, and salvage crews raced against the clock to pump the remaining 3,000 tonnes of oil off the ship.
As of Saturday about 90 tonnes of oil remained on board, much of it residue from the leakage.
Early Saturday morning the salvage team warned that the ship’s condition “was worsening and it could break at any time”, a crisis committee formed in response to the spill, said.
“Indeed, on the same day at around 4.30pm, a major detachment of the vessel’s forward section was observed,” it added.
Images taken Saturday showed the MK Wakashio close to splitting completely in half, though the two pieces were still partially attached.