The Oil Spill At Mauritius Is A Disaster. And It Could Soon Get Worse

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A man scoops oil from the coast of Mauritius on Saturday. A Japanese cargo ship ran aground near Blue Bay Marine Park in late July and began to leak fuel oil and diesel into pristine waters.

Jean Aurelio Prudence/L’Express Maurice/AFP via Getty

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Jean Aurelio Prudence/L’Express Maurice/AFP via Getty

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A large patch of leaked oil travels on ocean currents near the Pointe d’Esny in Mauritius on Saturday. The worsening oil spill is polluting the island nation’s famous reefs, lagoons and oceans.

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The Mauritian government has urged residents to stay home and leave the clean-up to authorities, the BBC reports, but residents have organized themselves anyway and assembled home-made oil booms — floating barriers to contain and absorb the toxic spill.

Reuters reports that sugar cane leaves, plastic bottles and human hair (cut off and donated by residents) are being sewn into makeshift booms.

«People have realized that they need to take things into their hands. We are here to protect our fauna and flora, environmental activist Ashok Subron said, according to AFP.

Subron told a local news outlet the collective action by everyday citizens demonstrated «the failure of the state, and other residents are angrily asking why action wasn’t taken sooner to prevent this unfolding disaster.

«The authorities did nothing for days, Fezal Noordaully, a taxi driver from a coastal village in Mauritius, told The Guardian. «Now they are but it’s too late.

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Scooping oil at the beach in Bambous Virieux, in southeast Mauritius, on Saturday.

-/L’Express Maurice/AFP via Getty

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The vessel MV Wakashio was grounded on a reef for nearly two weeks before it began to leak large quantities of oil. The Japanese company that owns the ship says bad weather and rough seas caused one of the tanks of the vessel to be breached. Now a crack inside the hull of the ship has expanded and authorities worry it could break apart.

Daren Mauree/L’Express Maurice/AFP via Getty

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But the key challenge is stop the flow of oil, the group says; until the source of the leak is addressed, shoreline clean-up will accomplish little.

In addition to environmental devastation, the spill could have «dire consequences for Mauritius’ economy, food security and health, Greenpeace Africa warns. Tourism is an important part of the economy and had already taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic.