Remembering the Mauritius oil spill: A photo story

Prishnee Bissessur and Ragilen Mamoodee

The MV Wakashio that ran aground in pointe d’Esny © Fabiola Monty

Pointe d’Esny, South-eastern Mauritius, evening of 25 July 2020 — A yet unknown vessel is in Mauritian waters, too close to its shoreline and it just got stranded on the coral reefs in the area. Later we will learn that it is the MV Wakashio, a Japanese bulk carrier, en route to Brazil, carrying aboard about 4200 metric tons of fuel (mostly low-sulphur fuel oil).

Mahebourg, South-eastern Mauritius, 6 August 2020 — The strong smell of crude oil along the coast confirms what many Mauritians feared for almost two weeks: the MV Wakashio is leaking oil into an already vulnerable lagoon, posing serious threats to marine wildlife and ecosystems and environmentally sensitive coastal areas. That same lagoon and its biodiversity also define and support intrinsic parts of a way of life in the area — a unique localised culture with different forms of ocean-based livelihoods.

Mauritians took matter in their own hands

Soon after the oil spill started, the Mahebourg waterfront became the first centre of community mobilisation to mitigate the impacts. Picture taken on 7 August 2020. © Fabiola Monty

It is without surprise that the Mauritian community felt the sense of urgency to act immediately even before a state of environmental emergency was declared. In the evening of 6 August 2020, a group of proactive citizens joined forces at the Mahebourg Waterfront to test and start manufacturing low cost booms to contain the oil spill. This initiated a wave of solidarity across the island.

Mauritians manufacturing booms to contain the oil spill in Bois des Amourettes, southeast of Mauritius. © Ragilen Mamoodee / Ragz Adventures

Mauritian volunteers at different locations across the island, assembled dried sugarcane leaves (bagasse) and used plastic bottles into floating booms to create physical barriers that would serve to contain and avoid, or at least, slow the oil’s spread from the area of spillage. Disaster united a nation and depicted how community mobilisation and participation are paramount to help mitigate negative impacts of hazards.

Hundreds of booms were manufactured and placed in the lagoons by volunteers. © Ragilen Mamoodee/ Ragz Adventures

The clean-up

Besides manufacturing booms, Mauritians also started cleaning the shores. However, many volunteers did this at their own risk and were exposed to the toxic and skin irritating hydrocarbons, a health hazard that could leave potential after effects.

Before the cleaning operations were taken over by contracted companies, local fishers helped trained volunteers but were not always well equipped. © Ragilen Mamoodee/ Ragz Adventures

Some trained volunteers wore tailor-made protective gear for their own security while others, poorly equipped but highly motivated, still joined to shovel as much oil as they could from the shoreline before the contracted clean-up started.

It is estimated that around 1000 tons of fuel was spilled into the south-east coast. During clean-up, the oil skimmed from the sea surface and the shorelines were stored in high capacity plastic tanks. © Ragilen Mamoodee/ Ragz Adventures

Following days of citizen-led mitigation efforts, cleaning operations were eventually taken over by companies contracted by Japan P&I Club, the insurers of the bulk carrier.

Threatened livelihoods: life at a standstill

The boats normally used to generate income were initially used to minimise the spread of the oil spill. Fuel costs were all provided by volunteers including local people whose livelihoods were now at risk. © Fabiola Monty

The oil spill created an additional socio-economic crisis for many families in the affected area when they were already dealing with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic that affected job opportunities and the tourism sector.

All activities along the shores and in the lagoon were prohibited for months, leaving fishers, boat skippers, small business owners, and others depending on the sea for their daily income, unemployed and facing food insecurity.

Fishers’ pirogues in the region were eventually docked at bay for months following the oil spill. © Ragilen Mamoodee/ Ragz Adventures

While registered fishers obtained monthly compensations (less than 260 USD), this was not enough in relation to the high cost of living in Mauritius that remains on the rise. Unregistered fishers that rely on seafood for additional income and supplementary food sources, which include a good proportion of women, were on the other hand left unassisted (if not for the support some received from civil society organisations and the private sector).

Uncertainties and changes needed ahead

This unprecedented socio-ecological disaster taught us that Mauritius need to improve its disaster risk management strategies and lessons must be drawn so that local communities and important ecosystems are better protected from all forms of hazards in the future.

Sea snails were found coated with crude oil near Rivière des Créoles, a dozen of kilometers away from the original area of the spill. Those that survived, would be left contaminated leaving questions regarding food safety in terms of bioaccumulation across the food chain. © Ragilen Mamoodee/ Ragz Adventures

While the immediate environmental, financial, cultural, and emotional loss were very tangible, the long-term socio-ecological impacts of the oil spill, the first involving very low sulphur fuel oils (VLSFOs), remain to unfold in the years and decades to come. This will require close follow-ups and monitoring and effective communication with the communities in the southeast.

The southeast bay. © Fabiola Monty

While recreational activities resumed in late 2020 and as of March 2021 fishing activities could also resume in the lagoon in some areas, life is not back to normal. There are many voices that still need to be heard.

Voices that if left unheard and no actions are taken accordingly, will keep Mauritius in a status quo, where the factors that contributed to the lack of community resilience and ecosystem degradation will continue to prevail.

This is not an option for such a small and vulnerable island like Mauritius!

Prishnee Bissessur is a PhD student at the University of Mauritius with an interest in island plant conservation and keen on contributing to awareness about environmental issues. You can follow her here as well as her research here.

Ragilen Mamoodee has a background in biology and is a nature enthusiast interested in nature and outdoor photography. He is currently on a mission to sensitise and spread knowledge about ecology in Mauritius. You can follow him here and follow his photographic journey on instagram (same handle as twitter).