DARK LIQUID streaks across the emerald water from the half-emerged ship. Black, oily spots spread further out in clumps, ocean waves pushing them towards the shores of Mauritius. Dead starfish and crabs wash up onto the beach, covered in black oil, while volunteers waddle into the water themselves as they try to push it away. Despite their best efforts, they can’t stop the darkness from breaching their homeland.

The timeline of the shipwreck

   Mauritius is a small African island nation in the Indian Ocean. A tropical location near Madagascar, Mauritius is home to rich coral reefs, various animals, and plant life. The national economy relies on sugar production, the tourism industry, and fishing, and the local area is famous for its ecological sanctuaries of biodiversity*.

   On July 15, a Japanese-owned and Panama-registered cargo vessel MV Wakashio from China en route to Brazil grounded off the reefs surrounding Mauritius. At the time of writing, the reason for deviating off course and getting close to the reefs is yet unanswered. Fortunately, all crew were safely evacuated; unfortunately, the 4,000 tons of oil on the ship were not. Mauritius coast guards and workers from the Japanese firm desperately tried to pump the fuel out of the half-capsized ship and fence off the area to prevent a massive oil leakage. Although they pumped out much of it, the hull finally broke on August 6, starting the dreaded oil spill of more than 1,000 tons**. The captain of MV Wakashio, Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, was arrested and on August 7, Mauritius’s Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth officially declared “a state of environmental emergency”***. The Japan Times reported that on August 10, Japan sent a relief team to assess the damages. Following this, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Minister of the Environment officially promised support for Mauritius’s recovery, sending another relief team of officials and professionals. However, contradictory reports about the amount of environmental damage from the teams generated criticism about the effectiveness of their help****.

The aftermath

   The immediate effects of the oil leak were obvious on the coasts of Mauritius, especially for aquatic creatures. The Guardian reported that 30 to 50 dolphins started washing up on shore following the oil spill, prompting a massive protest in the capital city of Port Louis. The protestors wanted accountability from officials for not acting fast enough when the ship first ran aground, and demanded a proper investigation into the correlation between the oil spill and the death of maritime animals. However, the oil spill has more troubling long-term consequences for the local ecosystem. BBC reported that the crash happened near Pointe d’Esny, a site “of international importance” under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of 1971. An island called Ile aux Aigrettes, home to the last native ebony tree forest and other endangered plant species, is also at risk. Mangrove trees and the rich marine life living among their roots are threatened, while widespread coral bleaching is expected due to the oil weakening coral reefs. Although the full effects are yet to be determined, many environmentalists fear for the survival of the vulnerable wildlife.

   This kind of destruction also has devastating effects on the local economy. For instance, The Conversation reported that local fishermen are greatly harmed as the oil spill kills off their vital income source and their own food source. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that Mauritius made $1.6 million from tourism in 2019. Their economy was already struggling due to the halt of the tourism industry amidst the pandemic, and the damage from the oil spill will only make matters worse. The contamination of the pristine water, death of marine life, and coral bleaching will make much of their tourism spots obsolete, forecasting a rough future for Mauritius’s tourism industry.

   With so much at stake, locals took damage control into their own hands despite the government’s request to leave it to authorities. BBC reported that the locals and volunteers built barriers of straw, fabric, and even hair to absorb oil. Some went onto the beaches and even into the water to clean up the oil and rescue wildlife. However, volunteers reported symptoms like nausea or skin rashes after clean-up; experts are concerned that the lack of professional equipment and long exposure to oil could damage their health as they breathe in toxic fumes*****. The people of Mauritius are at risk of losing many things—the environment they live in, their livelihoods, and their health—as they struggle to minimize the damages in the limited scope they can achieve.

What happens after

   As of September 2, Mauritius has demanded ¥3.6 billion, or $34 million, from Japan to aid the local fishing industry and redevelop their research center******. To their credit, responses from associated parties are largely positive. To be clear, the brunt of the liability claims would be directed towards Nagashiki Shipping Co., the private company that owns the ship, and they have already promised to cooperate with Mauritius’s claims. Furthermore, the Japanese government vowed to provide aid for Mauritius’s recovery while the operator of the vessel Mitsui O.S.K. Lines promised over $9 million to repair environmental damages*******. The case of legal compensation, however, is still unsettled. If MV Wakashio was an oil tanker instead of a bulk-carrier, this case could have been covered under the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds. However, due to this technicality, the case isn’t eligible for the compensation that could grant up to $285 million but instead will have to resort to other treaties********. For example, both Japan and Mauritius ratified the Convention on Limitations of Liability for Maritime Claims. However, according to Reuters, the 1976 version that Mauritius signed caps compensation up to ¥2 billion, while Japan’s 1996 version can cost up to ¥7 billion. The difference between the two countries’ contracts could lead to an extended period of legal disputes, along with other legal procedures and investigations that will take time to reach a resolution; this leads to a question of whether the compensation discussed among the authorities will actually reach the people and the environment most affected by the disaster in time.

   The limitations of current conventions are clear in the case of Mauritius and serve as a valuable lesson for international communities. For instance, the UNCTAD proposed putting in legal instruments to aid “vulnerable developing nations” and suggested countries to update the latest international fund regimes that cover previous loopholes. Another possibility is strengthening environment preservation treaties and marine laws to prevent such disasters from happening in the first place, or developing a strong emergency protocol so governments can react as quickly as possible to contain the damage. International coordination and aid between countries are also helpful, such as France and India giving aid to Mauritius’s clean-up, as environmental damage is rarely limited to local areas and has massive ramifications on a global sphere.

   Regardless, legislation and protocol only do so much for the oil that is already spilt. Many experts warn that the full economic and environmental damages could take decades to recover, and the people of Mauritius will suffer from the effects of the oil spill long after compensation is received*********. The more complicated it is to solve the compensation issue, the longer people will have to wait for the resolution—all the while the marine ecosystem deteriorates daily as the process drags on. While there are many legal and technical aspects to consider and improve for future accidents like these, it’s important to remember that aiding the locals, wildlife, and the environment most hurt by the disaster should be prioritized above everything else.

*Britannica

**CBS

***The Japan Times

****Forbes

*****ABC

******EcoWatch

*******VOA News

********DW News

*********Marine Link