Ship runs aground off Mauritius with fuel on board

Mauritius deployed its coast guard and armed forces on Monday after a Chinese-flagged trawler containing 130 tonnes of oil ran aground off the Indian Ocean archipelago.

This is the second shipwreck in less than a year off the coast of Mauritius, after an oil tanker struck a reef in July and spilled 1,000 tonnes of fuel during the country’s worst environmental disaster. history.

Fisheries Minister Sudheer Maudhoo said the captain of the Lurong Yuan Yu, a Chinese-flagged trawler, made distress calls on Sunday afternoon.

Residents said flares were sent from the fishing boat, which ran aground off Pointe-aux-Sables, northwest of the main island, not far from the capital Port Louis.

“The first step is to pump all the oil on board,” Minister Maudhoo told reporters on Sunday, adding that the ship contained no cargo but 130 tonnes of fuel oil and five tonnes of lubricants.

Soldiers and coast guards were dispatched to the coast, where containment booms were deployed in case it was necessary to stop an oil slick on the shore.

Mauritius location map. By Anne-Sophie THILL (AFP)

On July 25, the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio crashed off Mauritius with 4,000 tonnes of fuel on board but did not start to leak for over a week.

By the time the government launched an urgent appeal for international aid, the water table had reached the shore, covering mangrove forests, fragile ecosystems and coral reefs.

An army of volunteers scoured the coast but the stricken ship continued to flee. More than 1,000 tons of oil eventually spilled into the crystal-clear waters which have long been a major draw for honeymooners and which contain valuable mangroves and coral reefs.

The disaster was unprecedented for Mauritius, an archipelago of 1.3 million people where many depend on tourism and fishing for their livelihoods, and tens of thousands marched to protest the government’s handling of the crisis.