By Elian Peltier from New York Times
A Japanese-owned bulk carrier ran aground near the Indian Ocean island in late July, with nearly 4,000 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel on board. And now its hull has cracked.
A ship that ran aground off the shores of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, began spilling oil into the country’s famed blue lagoons this week, triggering an environmental crisis in a tiny island nation that relies on its waters for fishing and tourism.
The hull of the Wakashio, a Japanese-owned and Panama-flagged bulk carrier, was found to be cracked on Thursday, the Mauritian authorities said, 12 days after the ship became grounded off the island’s southeastern coast with nearly 4,000 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel on board.
As the spill has expanded into the clear blue waters of nearby lagoons, the Mauritian environment minister, Kavydass Ramano, said at a news conference on Thursday that the country faced an unprecedented environmental crisis. The nation relies on its pristine lagoons for tourism and food. Read more from NewYork times
