On the night of July 25th, a Japanese ship Wakashio was found to have run aground on a coral reef off Mauritius. The vessel belongs to Nagashiki Shipping Co. and was operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.

The ship was on route to Brasil from China with nearly 4,000 tones of fuel oil and 200 tones of diesel onboard.  On Thursday 6th of August, the ship  began spilling oil into Mauritius’s blue lagoons, triggering the biggest environmental crisis ever known in this part of the world.

The grounding happened at Pointe d’Esny, which is listed under the Ramsar convention on wetlands of international importance and near the marine park of Blue Bay.

“We are in an environmental crisis situation,” said the environment minister, Kavy Ramano, while the fishing minister, Sudheer Maudhoo, said: “This is the first time that we are faced with a catastrophe of this kind and we are insufficiently equipped to handle this problem.”

Mauritius is a very small island and relies on its seas for food and for tourism, and is home to some of the finest coral reefs in the world. Mauritius is also home to many rare and endangered species! Thousand of species in the lagoons are  now at risk.

Mauritius does not have the resource and expertise to deal with this crisis. Mauritians have gathered and are doing everything they can with what they have. 

This is an environmental, human and economic crisis.

Mauritius need help please!

I ask UNEP and countries that have the required equipments  to send help. UNEP or the World environmental organisation should oversee all clean up effort to ensure it is done safely, effectively and fast!

Please sign this petition to help:

1.  Raise awareness on this crisis.

2. To get UNEP and other governmental bodies to send help. 

When the clean up is done, there should be independent and international enquiry  as to why this ship was so close to the coast  of Mauritius. And why prompt actions and call for help was not triggered as soon as the vessel ran aground. All parties responsible for this disaster should be prosecuted.  

Sources: government of Mauritius press conference, BBC news, Zinfo-moris.com,The Guardian, The New York Times.