Mauritius oil spill: How severe was the Mauritius oil spill? Big Environmental Disaster

The island of Mauritius is facing an environmental emergency as a Japanese-owned ship is leaking tons of diesel and oil into the Indian Ocean. According to the reports the Merchant Vessel Wakashio ship was carrying 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil, ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July.  M V Wakashio, which is owned by Nagashiki Shipping, struck a coral reef resulting in an oil spill of over 1,000 tonnes into the Indian Ocean. No humans lost their life but environment had very bad impact, oil spill into the region of species rich water of protected Marine Park with untouched coral reefs of Indian Ocean. It raised a great concern for the marine life of that place.

Two week later Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared an environmental emergency  and appealed for international help. On Thursday Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth  announced that almost all the fuel oil from the ship that has caused a huge oil spill has been pumped out and  it had been cleaned up. All the oil from the M V Wakashio has been transferred to shore by helicopter and to another ship owned by same firm. Police said that there are still works to do but the situation is under control. France has also send their military aircraft to the mission and Japan assist the French efforts. Volunteers/locals made fabric sacks filled with straws collected from fields which will absorbs oil from sea while others making their own tubes with tights and hairs and others busy with cleaning beaches.  We can say that the impact is very high it will impact the coral reef and preserved mangrove forest of Mauritius, but the impact has been lowered a lot by timely and proper actions.

How danger is the Mauritius oil spillage?

This is not the largest oil spill in world or not the first one in Mauritius, this is apparently the third ship to run aground in five years in Mauritian seas. The issue here is not due to the size of oil spill, it is the area where it occurred creates such a huge concern. The oil spill has taken place near the Blue Bay Marine Park Reserve and the area having two protected marine ecosystems. So the damage due to this oil spill will be very high and lasting for years. The blue lagoon outside the coastal village in Mauritius, is favorite place for numerous Bollywood movies due to its blue beauty, are now stained black and brown. Mauritius water is special due to its mangroves, coral reef, sea grasses and variety of preserved flora and fauna with very few left on the planet.

Major impact of the oil spill in Mauritius will be on coral reefs; around 1/4^th of fish in oceans depends on these coral reefs. Due to the diversity of life found in them they are also called rain forests of the sea, these are one of the major pillars of Mauritius ecosystem and major attraction for tourism. The toxic hydrocarbons released from spilled oil will bleach the coral reefs and they will eventually die indirectly affecting the whole marine ecosystem of Mauritius. Birds living in Mangroves will lose their habitat and even may affect their resistivity and reproductive system eventually will lose the protection of their egg shells which even may lead to extinction. Satellite images are quite scary and clearly showing the blue water covered with black. The complete impact is yet to be unfolded and may take time to analyze the effect of this Mauritius oil spillage.

Since the damage happened to most sensitive part of the marine ecosystem it may take years to recover and we may also lost many of the valuable resources completely. Survived coral reefs may lost their resistance or may undergo mutation, fishes and coral reefs will effect first which will indirectly or directly affect Mauritius tourism and economy.

Impact of Oil Spills on Marine Life

Pollution caused by oil spills is considered to be deadly and it is considered with great concern. The toxic hydrocarbons from petroleum product will cause severe damage to the coral reef, fishes and all other marine organisms living in that zone even it will have great impact on terrestrial life. These spills will also cause great impact on economy. Organisms can effect from inhalation or through skins or eyes causing allergic reaction. Mammals will find difficult to maintain their body temperature, oil in wings of birds make them difficult to fly, and sea birds are found to be highly infected from oil spills. If oil remains on a beach for a while, other creatures, such as snails, clams, and terrestrial animals may suffer.