Why did a Japanese cargo ship run aground and what impact would it have on the ecology?

The Japanese cruise ship Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef in the southeastern waters of Mauritius, about 3.2 kilometers from the coastline. All 20 crew members were safely evacuated. At the time of the grounding, the hull was intact and there was no sign of leakage. However, due to bad weather in the Indian Ocean over the past two weeks, strong winds and waves caused damage to the hull and eventually broke apart. A large amount of fuel leaked, and the Mauritian authorities immediately organized a large-scale cleaning operation, but the cleaning speed was far unable to keep up with the speed of the fuel seeping into the sea. Local residents accused the government of inaction and failure to prevent the disaster in time.

Satellite images show that a dark oil pollution is spreading in the sea near the ecologically very sensitive marine reserve. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 tons of fuel oil has leaked into nearby waters. Of these, 460 tons have been removed manually.

There are 3,800 tons of very low sulfur fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel on board. Some experts pointed out that once a ship breaks in two, it will only take a few hours for the fuel to flood the seaside lagoon. The ship's operator, Mitsui Co., Ltd. of Japan, also confirmed in a statement issued that day that the cracks inside the ship had expanded. Since the ship was no longer able to sail on its own, it had to be transferred to a tugboat to prevent the fragments from floating away after rupture.

About 530 tons of fuel oil have been extracted from the cargo ship's ruptured oil tank. The fuel leakage has stopped, but there are still about 2,500 tons of fuel oil on the cargo ship, and there is a risk of further rupture of the hull.

However, due to the lack of personnel and equipment during the epidemic, the cleanup speed was far unable to keep up with the speed of fuel leakage and spread.

Mauritius Prime Minister Jugnauth declared last week that the country has entered a state of environmental emergency and asked French President Macron for help. The latter said on the 8th that it was deploying personnel and equipment from the nearby French island of Reunion to provide assistance.

Tourism is an important income industry in Mauritius. Affected by the epidemic, the tourism industry has suffered losses of 12 billion rupees (approximately 2 billion yuan) in the past two months. Local residents and oceanographers fear the oil spill will further damage their tourism industry. Due to the push of strong winds and ocean currents, the oil slick has begun to drift away from the coast, and the oil traces are scattered to sea areas that are inaccessible to the public. Marine experts assess that corals that have lived on the coast of Mauritius for hundreds of years are facing a survival crisis. Recovery work may take decades, and some losses will be permanent.