What must we learn from Mauritius’ worst oil spill disaster

Paolo Tibaldeschi

Aug 14, 2020·13 min read

Authors: Paolo Tibaldeschi, Environmental expert who has worked in Mauritius, Komal Hassamal, Climate Finance specialist from Mauritius and Sindra Sharma, PhD Environmental Policy, SIDS expert, from Fiji

Photographers: Brady Goorappa, Karl Ahnee

Mauritius is currently experiencing its worst oil spill ever recorded following the grounding of the ‘MV Wakashio’ on the 25th of July on the southeastern coast of the island. Twelve days later, heavy fuel from the carrier started to leak into the reef lagoon causing the Mauritian government to declare a state of environmental emergency. This is a tragedy for the local fauna and flora, local communities and residents, and the economy which is already suffering from the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown. However, the series of events and factors which have lead to Mauritius’ worst oil spill disaster have also generated a set of key lessons that ocean states and especially Small Island Development States (SIDS) need to acknowledge and consider in order to avoid similar events.

Some key facts

The ‘MV Wakashio’ is a 299.95 m long x 50 m wide bulk Carrier built in 2007, owned by a Japanese company, sailing under a Panama flag which grounded on the southeastern coast of Mauritius on the 25th July 2020. When the carrier grounded, it was empty (no cargo) but had some 4,000 tonnes of heavy fuel aboard of which approximately 1,200 tonnes started to leak into Mauritius coral reef lagoon on 6th August 2020.

*Figure 1: Map of the reef lagoon extending from blue bay marine park to Trou d’eau douce, Southeast Mauritius. Map by Paolo Tibaldeschi*

Failure of the national vessel monitoring system and enforcement capability

The ‘MV Wakashio’ was travelling from China to Brazil and was 200 miles off course when it hit Mauritius. Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellite data (for collision avoidance) show that the carrier was heading straight towards Mauritius from 21st of July and subsequently from the 23rd July when it entered the Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This was apparently not picked up by the vessel’s Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking nor by the Mauritian authorities [1].

Pressure quickly mounted on the government to explain why it did not take immediate action to intercept and deviate the ‘MV Wakashio’ before it grounded on the 25th July 2020. Subsequently questions were raised on why the government did not try to tug the carrier out of the reef the following day or put in place booms and other oil spill mitigation measures before the start of the spill which could have prevented and minimised the environmental disaster. By the 7th August 2020, the Prime Minister had declared the oil spill a national emergency and oil pumping operations had not started due to the rough weather conditions.

Developing countries and especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are facing increasing pressure on their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) from the excess capacity of the shipping and fishing industries. Poor vessel monitoring system and enforcement capability, including Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS), within a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is also one of the problems leaving the door open to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. According to the FAO, IUU represents an economic loss for ocean states and one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems. So although Mauritius may have a vessel monitoring system and enforcement capabilities, the system was either inadequate or simply failed to identify and intercept the ‘MV Wakashio’ before it ran aground causing the start of this tragedy.

Outdated oil spill contingency plan and inadequate response

Being an importer of petroleum gases and other hydrocarbons, as well as being within range of one of the busiest shipping routes in the Indian Ocean connecting South East Asia and South Africa, Mauritius last oil spill contingency plan was developed 30 years ago, in 1990 with help from UNEP .

Figure 5: Ship traffic in the Indian ocean, Shiptraffic.net

Although the 1990 plan provides some guidelines for a national contingency plan for responding to oil spills that may occur in Mauritius and five of the important Islets, the plan does not take into account several aspects including new regulations and new technologies developed in the last 30 years and makes this plan too outdated to be applied and implemented in this situation [9].

The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (ITOPF) states on its country profile for Mauritius that although Mauritius has a response policy, arrangements and equipment, previous spill experience show that “oil companies have limited response equipment to cope with small spills at their own installations”, giving another indication that the country might not be prepared for these type of events [10].

Pumping of the oil from the carrier began on the 8th August when two tankers and tugs arrived close to the ‘MV Wakashio’ to assist with the removal of the fuel oil. As of the 14th August 2020, an estimated 2,800 tonnes of oil were pumped. This effort was done with international help from France, South Africa and Japan who also sent equipment and experts to support.

With Mauritian NGOs and volunteers having to build and place booms in the lagoon as well as the fact that Mauritius resorted to request international help, namely from France and South Africa to pump out the oil from the carrier, it is clear that Mauritius was not prepared to face this oil spill.

Figure 6. il spill in Mauritius. Photographer: Brady Goorappa, volunteer

Local people stepping up to the challenge

One of the most remarkable developments which came out of this tragic event, was the Mauritian people coming together to stop the oil spreading further in the lagoon. Organised by several well established local civil society organisations including The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Reef Conservation, Eco-Sud, and other environmental NGOs, local communities, tour operators and volunteers came from all over the island to help build booms from dried sugar cane leaves, straw and hair (yes, people started to contribute by cutting their hair), and using small tourist boats and fishing vessels to place the booms that would prevent the oil from reaching the shore.

Figure 3. Volunteers in Mauritius assembling booms

Some other volunteers were salvaging endangered plants from ile aux aigrettes, moving them to mainland nursery, translocating endangered reptiles from the islets to bio-secure rooms.

Mauritius environmental NGOs also established crowdfunding pages to raise funds for on the ground actions and coordinated the collection and distribution of safety equipment (PPE) to ensure that cleaning operations were implemented safely.

Since the grounding of the ‘MV Wakashio’, it is clear that local civil society has had to step up and take the lead in order to mitigate this oil spill. They have had to fill a gap left by the authorities since the carrier was grounded.

Figure 4: Booms being deployed by volunteers. Photographer : Karl Ahnee, volunteer

Environmental impacts: when low probability meets high consequences

Compared to other similar incidents like the ‘Katina P’ which was stranded in 1992 off the coast of Mozambique losing some 16,000 tonnes of oil [2] or ‘MV Prestige’ in southern Spain losing some 61,000 tonnes oil along the coastlines of Spain, Portugal and France, 1,200 tonnes for the ‘MV Wakashio’ might not seem much.

However, the oil from the ‘MV Wakashio’ spilt right into one of Mauritius’ most pristine reef lagoon, a shallow reef lagoon in the southeastern part of the island which includes Pointe d’Esny, a designate Ramsar site, the Ile aux Aigrettes, a nature reserve, as well as the Blue Bay Marine Park.

The lagoon also includes the Mahébourg Fishing Reserve; Ile aux Fouquets (Islet National Park), Ile aux Fous (Islet National Park), Ile Marianne (Nature Reserve), Ilot Vacoas (Islet National Park), Rocher des Oiseaux (Islet National Park) which are also classified as sensitive areas.

These sites are important biodiversity areas and fishing grounds characterised by a subtropical mangrove forest which provides habitat for some threatened plants, the native butterflies, an exceptional underwater seascape with diverse marine fauna and flora, especially its coral diversity (38 coral species representing 28 genera and 15 families). The presence of mangroves, seagrass meadows, and macro algae contribute to the overall stability of the marine environment and make it a habitat for about 72 fish species and the endangered green turtle, as well as a nursing ground for juvenile marine species [3].

The area is also an important attraction with Blue Bay, a widely used beach by the local community for recreational purposes, and tourism.

In addition to the oil floating on the surface, toxic compounds from the oil are dissolving and depositing on the seabed, mangrove roots, and seagrass, affecting food chains, spawning areas, breeding grounds and impacting the local ecosystem as a whole. Although almost all the remaining oil has been pumped from the carrier, the presence of oil in this reef lagoon will impact directly and indirectly the endemic fauna and flora. Physical impacts will likely persist even when the majority of oil has been removed by clean-up operations. Experts have estimated that this oil spill will alter this ecosystem for years to come.

*Figure 2: Oil spill on mangroves, in Mauritius. Photographer: Brady Goorappa, volunteer*

An economy largely based on its coastline

Mauritius is famous for its crystal clear beaches and tourism contributes significantly to the economy of the island. Tourism is the third pillar of the economy after the Export Processing Zone (textiles), manufacturing sector and Agriculture. It contributes 24.3 percent of the GDP [4]. The Blue Economy of Mauritius is another large contributor to the economy which today over 10.5 percent of the national GDP, with total direct employment estimated at over 7,000 excluding coastal tourism [5].The Mauritius blue economy is currently represented by coastal tourism, fishing, seafood processing and seaport activities that are also considered as traditional ocean activities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Economy was to assume another dimension as the need to ensure food security, job retention, and sustainability was now among the highest priorities of the socio-economic development agenda of Mauritius [6].

It is estimated that the shutdown to control the pandemic cost 10 percent of the country’s GDP for 2020 with the fall in tourism receipts [7]. The Government is under pressure to reopen borders on 1st September 2020 and rescue an industry that employs almost a fifth of its workforce.

Due to the nature of oil spills, it is impossible to predict for how long after a spill the economic impacts will persist. Where tourism and fisheries are concerned, the consequences will also be long-lived due to the effects of negative publicity and persisting public perceptions.

A recent event which occurred in 2019 where a Hong Kong based bulk carrier ‘MV Solomon Trader’ ran aground in the Solomon Islands, spilling 80 tonnes of heavy fuel into the highly sensitive and biodiverse ecosystem also recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. The cost of clean-up was estimated at 50 million US Dollars [8]. However, the actual cost for the long term recovery would be much more than this. The spill’s impact on the marine environment, human health, tourism and livelihoods will be significant.

Flag of convenience: a loophole in international shipping regulations

By 2009, Panama, Liberia and Marshall islands accounted for approximately 40% of the maritime fleet by dead tonnage. The reason behind this is a business practice called Flag of Convenience (FoC) which is widely spread in the shipping industry allowing shipping companies to register their vessels in foreign countries that have less taxes, fewer operational requirements and regulations (e.g. workers’ rights).

The ‘MV Wakashio’ is registered in Panama and although it is unclear why the Japanese company adopted a flag of convenience, or if the ‘MV Wakashio’ had operational problems which lead to ground in Mauritius, the issue is the one of liability and accountability.

Similarly to the ‘MV Solomon Trader’ which ran aground in the Solomon Islands in 2019, clean-up were estimated at 50 million US Dollars [8]. For Mauritius, the costs of clean-up could potentially be even higher. Although the Japanese company owning the ‘MV Wakashio’ stated that they were willing to help, since the vessel is registered in Panama, this could mean that the Japanese company might not be legally liable to compensate Mauritius for clean up operations leaving the financial burden on the island.

What must we learn from this

Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) are extremely important areas when it comes to natural resources, economic opportunities and international shipping routes. Yet, their sheer size makes them even harder to monitor and manage when there is no proper prioritisation and investments. The case of Mauritius shows that an empty carrier heading to another country can have devastating and long lasting environmental and economic impacts on a country when monitoring, enforcement and risk mitigation measures within its EEZ are not properly accounted for.

This disaster speaks to three wider endemic problems facing Mauritius and other ocean states including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) when it comes to shipping and oil and gas in general. The first is the lack of an effective vessel monitoring system and enforcement capabilities within the EEZ which allowed the ‘MV Wakashio’ to enter Mauritius’ territorial waters and ground near one of the most important biodiversity areas in the region. The second is the inadequate preparedness and response to oil spill, which although had significantly less oil than other incidents (‘MV Prestige’ in southern Spain losing some 61,000), the slow and inadequate response led to severe impacts. The third is the lack of transparent international shipping standards, laws and regulations, in particular when it comes to vessel registration. These problems need to be addressed by wider structural change, accountability and greater transparency.

The following points are some of key recommendations to address the three key problems above mentioned which emanate from Mauritius’ worst oil spill disaster, which Mauritius and other SIDS should acknowledge and consider in order to avoid similar events:

Prevent marine disasters through effective vessel monitoring and enforcement, as well as transparent shipping regulations:

Invest and adopt new technologies to track vessel movement and trajectory, in particular high risk operators, before and upon entering National Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (also benefiting fisheries sector);
Establish operational control centres, towers and radars, with intervention teams composed of coast guards and tug boats to identify and deviate potential vessels heading towards collision;
Promote regional approach to spatial planning, strategies and regulations, including Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS), that minimise the risks of marine disaster and IUU;
Lead international discussions on the implementation of International Maritime Organisation conventions relevant to shipping, transportation of oil, as well as a reform on vessel registration.

Prepare and respond to eventual oil spills through better planning, training, disposal and restocking:

Upgrade and update oil spill contingency plan every 3 to 4 years so that it can be consistent with new regulations and new technologies;
Develop scenarios and models that forecast potential oil spill location and extent and identify the level of exposure to environmentally sensitive areas in order to inform the oil contingency plan;
Build coastal ecosystem resilience by decreasing local pressure from activities such destructive fishing or unsustainable tourism on coastlines;
Ensure oil spill contingency plans include guidelines for relocating endangered species;
Create an oil spill response programme and task force composed of staff and volunteers regularly trained in oil spill response including deployment of booms, oil pumping operation and clean up, in order to ensure efficiency of the response as well as safety standards;
Blue Economy plans as well as existing and new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) need to integrate externalities from the shipping and oil & gas sectors as a way to prepare mitigation measures;
Ensure that disposal of collected oil and toxic substances is also accounted for, and that there is enough equipment to restock teams on the ground;
Ensure there is a set annual government budget to operate the oil spill contingency plan and response including training of staff and volunteers and maintaining equipment;
Ensure “polluters pay” principle by having the legal tools and directives to drive oil and gas companies to compensate the direct and indirect impacts they cause;
Establish a country wide environmental monitoring programme to provide long term data and information about the state of the environment prior, during and after a potential oil spill.

Foster strong civil society

The role played by local NGOs and volunteers in Mauritius was key in responding to the oil spill. Countries should acknowledge the positive role of civil society organisations and ensure they are included in the decision making process when it comes to preventing, preparing and responding to oil spills.

Reliance on fossil fuel consequences

The reliance on fossil-fuel based technologies is devastating for the island, for the planet, for society, and for business. The extraction and use of oil aggravates the climate crisis, and threaten local livelihoods. This spill is in many ways an expected result of the path humanity has chosen. The situation would have been even worse if the ‘MV Wakashio’ had been an oil tanker.

The reality is that the pain from this oil spill will be felt not just for months or years — but for decades. On the other hand, shipping construction technology has evolved to the use of renewable energy technologies such as wind, sun and hybrid models [11] . This could revolutionise the industry but for how long will we keep using fossil fuel ?

Every successful recovery begins by acknowledging the mistakes we made and making sure we learn from them.