Mauritius Oil Spill
Overview:
Trouble brewed in the Indian Ocean on Saturday 25th July 2020 when a Japanese ship named M V Wakashio, which is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, was carrying an estimate of 4,000 tonnes of oil. It struck a coral reef and resulted in an oil spill of over 1,000 tonnes into the Indian Ocean. It was stated that due to the bad weather and constant pounding over the past few days, the starboard side bunker tank of the vessel had been breached and as a result the fuel oil had escaped into the sea. The spill occurred too close to two environmentally protected marine ecosystems, the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve and a number of popular tourist beaches and mangrove plantations.
This created a state of environmental and climate emergency which was also declared by the Government of Mauritius, since it had defiled a uniquely rich biodiversity marine ecosystem. The situation was only bound to get worse as oil is less dense than water and hence it has a tendency to float and spread more due to the currents, thus increasing the area of damage. So, sure enough on 11th August the area was scrutinized by the US analytics company, URSA Space System from the Finnish Iceye satellites and it was found that the oil had spilled to over 27 square kilometres.
Why must this issue be given its due importance?
A popular question may arise as to why oil spills are considered so tragic and detrimental to nature. This is because a variety of flora and fauna are adversely affected such as seabirds that dive in and out of the water looking for food or just a mere dip in the sea, their feathers get coated with oil and it prevents them from keeping their body warm and as a result they die of hypothermia. A similar phenomenon occurs in fur seals and otters, since their furs get coated with oil and as a result, they cannot keep their bodies warm and they die. These animals may also ingest the oil, causing serious consequences and even death.
A number of whales, dolphins, porpoises, jellyfish and plankton that at times surface from the sea to catch their breath or float on the surface respectively come in contact with the oil and it may irritate their eyes or skin, or they may breathe in harmful oil fumes. Depending upon the intensity of the oil spill, it may travel down below the surface to harm other aquatic life.
Fuel oils, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, are very "light" oils, Light oils are very volatile (they evaporate relatively quickly), so they usually don't remain for long in the aquatic or marine environment (typically no longer than a few days) but they are highly toxic and harm organisms , however on the other hand heavy" oils (like bunker oils, which are used to fuel ships) look black and may be sticky and they persist in the environment for a longer period of time (months or even years)if not removed. While these oils can stay for long, they are generally significantly less acutely toxic than lighter oils. But this doesn’t mean they are not harmful, since they cause chronic health effects like tumours in some organisms.
Analysing the Mauritius Oil Spill
The oil spill was caused by a heavy oil and as a result it would persist for a longer period of time, and ideally it should have been acted upon immediately, but unfortunately it was only 2 weeks after the incident ( on 7th August) that it was declared an emergency and effort was made to clean up the mess. Due to delay in action, the oil spill has adversely affected the Blue Bay Marine Park Reserve which is known for its diverse and rich fauna and flora especially the corals, mainly for a brain coral of diameter 6-7 metres and 108 species (33 genus) of coral, 233 fish species, 201 species of molluscs, 17 kinds of marine mammals and 2 species of turtle.
Due to the oil spill, thousands of these species have died including 20,000 bird species and other important species like golden tilefish, grouper and hake. Moreover, many more organisms have developed abnormalities, lesions, reduced growth problems and a variety of skin diseases. The fabulous corals have undergone coral bleaching which is a phenomenon in which the corals turn completely white since they expel the algae living in their tissues due to external stress like the decrease in temperature caused by the vile layer of oil. It has not only destroyed the floral and fauna but it has also tarnished the breath-taking turquoise waters of the blue lagoon outside the coastal village of Mahébourg in Mauritius. This has created a huge ecological imbalance and added to the heavy burden of wounds afflicted by man on nature. This just gives us an insight towards the fact that even one careless human mistake severely costs the environment in ways unimaginable. So just think about the number of times we deliberately hurt the environment and the number of accidents we commit just ‘because we are human’.
Aid for Mauritius Oil Spill
In an attempt to save this natural resource and stem the flow of damage France has sent a military aircraft with pollution control equipment from its nearby island of Réunion to help with the Mauritian spill, while Japan has sent a six-member team to assist the French efforts. The Mauritius coast guard and several police units are also at the site in the south-east of the island. India too has offered to help and has sent an advanced light helicopter to tackle the oil spill situation by extricating the skinned oil. Till date a variety of forces from different countries are trying their level best to save the precious waters and ecological reserve. These efforts have not gone in vain as recently Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth has announced that almost all the fuel oil from the Japanese-owned ship that has caused a huge oil spill off the coast of Mauritius has been pumped out.
We as conscious citizens of the world must do our bit to revive this biodiversity hotspot and donate to environmental organizations which include the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation and Greenpeace Africa. We can also sign a petition calling for the United Nations to help oversee the clean-up efforts.
Anandi Laxmi Somiah
11-I
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