Japan oil spill cargo ship breaks down, France and India actively support Mauritius

The Japanese freighter “ruoshio”, which had discharged thousands of tons of fuel into the waters of Mauritius, was eventually broken in two. The remaining fuel oil on the ship may continue to blacken this ecological reserve, bringing disaster to local animals and plants. The Mauritian national crisis committee announced on the 15th that the “Ruoshi” had been broken in two at about 4:30 p.m. local time, and one end of the bow was separated from the main body. Japan’s Mitsui Co., Ltd., the operator of “ruoshio”, also confirmed the news on the 16th, saying that it was a crack in a cargo hold that caused the hull to break. According to Agence France Presse, nearly 3000 tons of fuel oil on board the ship had been basically pumped away before the fracture, leaving only 90 tons. A total of 3800 tons of extremely low sulfur fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel oil were on board, of which 1180 tons had been leaked into the sea. According to the Maoist national crisis committee, 30 cubic meters of fuel oil are still stored in the engine room of the ship just ahead of the ship, while the bad weather in the Indian Ocean is expected to last another five days, with waves up to 4.5 meters, making it difficult to extract fuel. Oil boom and floating oil recovery ship have been arranged around the ship to prevent accidents. a police officer in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, said the rescue team would use two tugs to pull the second half of the hull ashore to avoid further damage to the country’s coastline, while the remaining one-third of the bow is still stranded on coral reefs. National Public Radio (NPR) reported that rescuers would pull the bow off the reef and sink it into the sea. The operation could take months. According to tal Harris, the liaison coordinator of Greenpeace Africa, the Mauritian authorities have designated the incident area as a “no go zone” and asked all volunteers to stop spontaneous rescue operations. the blue bay ocean park, which is home to the endangered green turtles, has been cordoned off and a three-layer floating dam has been built in the lagoon. A two kilometer long dike has also been built along the coast of Pointe d’esny to prevent more fuel flow. According to local media Le mauricien, the captain was celebrating his 58th birthday with his crew and was not in the cockpit at the time of the incident. Ten days later, an oil tank on the ship broke and thousands of tons of oil leaked into the sea. The Mauritian authorities launched an emergency clean-up operation and transferred fuel from the remaining two tanks. As of noon on the 16th, rescue teams had collected 841 tons of liquid oil, 419 tons of solid waste and contaminated debris, Le mauricien reported. the incident also led to criticism by the people and the opposition of Mauritian Prime Minister pravind jugnauth, who said he had done nothing within a week after the ship ran aground. Jagnath argued that it was the bad weather that caused the response lag. The government has promised to recover all losses and cleaning costs from Mitsui Co., Ltd. and the shipowner Changpu steamship company. Mitsui Co., Ltd. and Changpu steamship company have apologized to Mauritius on 9 September. Japan’s Environment Minister Koizumi said on the 15th that a team of experts and officials from the Ministry of environment will be sent to assess the next step. France is also actively involved in the rescue. French Minister s é Bastien lecornu arrived in Mauritius on the 16th to guide the rescue work. French President Marcon 8, said from the nearby French Reunion Island personnel and equipment to provide assistance. Mauritius was once a French colony and the two countries have maintained close relations. India also sent a 10 member coast guard with 28 tons of boom, barge and skimmer to Mauritius on the 16th. The oil spill is undoubtedly a major blow to Mauritius, which is heavily dependent on tourism. According to the Ministry of tourism, Mauritius received nearly 1.4 million tourists in 2019, more than the country’s population. Tourism brings 63 billion Mauritian rupees (about 11 billion yuan) to the country’s economy. According to oceanographer vassen kauppaymuthoo, the oil spill happened in one of the most sensitive areas in Mauritius. Some ecologists say this is the most serious ecological disaster in the history of Mauritius, and some damage may never be recovered. As of August 11, 27 square kilometers of oil have been contaminated. Mauritius is known for its ecological diversity. According to the United Nations Convention on biological diversity, there are 1700 species living in the waters of Mauritius, including nearly 800 species of fish, 17 species of marine mammals and two species of turtles. Today, aquatic plants covering shallow beaches, clownfish flying around coral reefs, tangled mangroves and the pink pigeon unique to Mauritius are in danger.