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

[flash13]

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

 

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.

 

 

The MV Wakashio split on Saturday after weeks grounded in pristine waters off Mauritius.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Source

 

[Ifketak Khan]

The way we are polluting the earth when it will strike back (a genuine blow), we will have nowhere to flee but dissolve in it.

[tennis]

It is beyond my comprehension how in this day and age of information and technology. that a vessel could run aground.  The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in 1989.  That was a disaster over 30 years ago.  Now this?  Due to the gravity of the Exxon Valdez oil spill one would have thought that international lessons were learned and implemented and captains held responsible for the operation of their ships.  A horrible insult to our environment as well as squandered natural resources.

[mp68terr]

43 minutes ago, tennis said:

It is beyond my comprehension how in this day and age of information and technology...

It is not much about information and technology, more likely about $$$.