CAPE TOWN, August 17 (ANA) - Eleven days after the Japanese cargo vessel MV Wakashio that ran aground off the coast of Mauritius started leaking more than 1 000 tons of oil, the ship has split in two.
Environmental consultant and former Mauritian Member of Parliament, Sunil Dowarkasing, confirmed that the split had happened on Saturday.
The MV Wakashio is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). MOL relayed a message from Nagashiki Shipping on Sunday stating that it had been confirmed on August 15 that the vessel had broken in two, Al Jazeera reported.
MOL added that "an amount of unrecovered oil is believed to have leaked out of the vessel". No further details were provided.
After Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth’s statement on August 12, it was believed that all the remaining oil from the MV Wakashio had been removed, according to AFP.
Nevertheless, the ship's split was imminent and authorities raced against the clock to remove the remaining fuel.
"The weather was calm and it helped the pumping exercise,” Jugnauth said on August 12.
According to local newspaper Le Mauricien, two tugboats set out on Sunday to tow the front part of the ship out to sea in order to sink it, the independent nonprofit National Public Radio (NPR) reported.
MV Wakashio ran aground on July 25 on the Pointe d’Esny coral reefs, where authorities allowed the ship to start leaking oil on August 6 before declaring a state of emergency on August 7.
Over 1 000 tons of oil have leaked into the Indian Ocean.
Dowarkasing said in an interview with African News Agency (ANA) last week: “We can’t make any assessment at this stage, it's too early to say what level of damage has been caused. But the amount of oil that’s on the shore won’t only affect marine life, but the ecosystem of the earth as well.”
- African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
