China News Service, August 16th. According to the "Central News Agency" report, a Japanese freighter ran aground on a reef off the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, leaking a large amount of oil and polluting the environment. The Mauritian authorities announced on the 15th that the hull of the stranded freighter had broken in half, and the fuel remaining in the hull might leak.
It was reported on August 10 that a Japanese freighter hit a rock and leaked oil in Mauritius, and clean-up work was intense.
According to reports, the Mauritian authorities said on the 15th that at about 4:30 pm local time on the 15th, the front and rear parts of the ship’s ship "Wakao", which had been stranded, were largely separated and confirmed to have broken in two. The color of the sea near the broken hull was exhausted and turbid, completely different from the surrounding blue sea. The fuel remaining in the hull may leak.
In addition to dispatching coast guard ships, the Mauritian authorities are negotiating with experts and are preparing to use tugboats to tow the cargo ship. It can take several months to remove a stranded freighter.
On August 10, local time, volunteers collected the leaked crude oil from oil barrels on the beach.
On July 25, the Japanese cargo ship "Wakachao" ran into a coral reef and ran aground, leaking about 1,000 tons of fuel, endangering coral reefs, fish and other marine life. Scientists described this as the worst ecological disaster in Mauritius.
On August 13, the Mauritian government stated that most of the fuel oil on the freighter had been pumped away, but there were still 166 tons of fuel remaining in the hull and the authorities were working hard to remove it.
On August 15, Japan’s Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi stated that Tokyo intends to send a group of Ministry of Environment officials and other experts to assess the damage. The owner of "Wakachao" is Nagapu Steamship Company, which is chartered and operated by Merchant Marine Mitsui. The Mauritian government has issued a statement on the 14th that it will request damages from shipowners and insurance companies for fuel pollution.
Scientists said that the oil spill is still in development, but the damage caused could affect Mauritius and its tourism economy for decades.