130 Tons of Oil Chinese Vessel Runs Aground in Mauritius... Is Last Year's Nightmare Returning?

A large fishing vessel of Chinese nationality is facing strong rain and wind.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A Chinese fishing vessel carrying 130 tons of oil ran aground off the coast of Mauritius, an island nation in southeastern Africa.

According to the South China Morning Post on the 9th, Mauritius, which suffered marine pollution from a similar accident last year, is once again on alert.

The accident occurred on the 7th in the waters off Puwangtte O Sable on the west side of Mauritius Island, where the large Chinese twin trawl fishing vessel (trawler) Lulongyuanyou 588 ran aground due to bad weather.

The vessel, carrying 16 crew members, was tuna fishing in the area. Fortunately, all crew members were evacuated by helicopter and rescued.

However, the ship carrying 130 tons of oil remained grounded.

The Mauritius government initially installed a 310-meter oil fence around the vessel to prevent the oil from leaking into the sea.

Sudhir Maudu, Minister of Fisheries, stated, "There was a minor oil spill. There is no need to worry."

The Japanese cargo ship 'MV Wakashio' that ran aground in August 2020 in the southern Indian Ocean near Mauritius. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This accident reminded the people of Mauritius of the worst marine pollution disaster that occurred last year.

In July of last year, a Japanese cargo ship ran aground on a coral reef southeast of Mauritius, splitting the hull in two and spilling about 1,000 tons of crude oil, turning the emerald waters of Mauritius gray.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.