Mauritius may be experiencing its first major oil spill and a
potential ecological catastrophe following the running aground of
the MV Wakashio on 25 July 2020. The vessel ran aground on a reef
off Pointe D'esny in the vicinity of Blue Bay Marine Park.
Whilst questions pertaining as to how the vessel ran aground on the
reef of Mauritius remain unanswered, in view of this catastrophic
turn of events, it begs the question as to whether our
environmental laws will efficiently protect our marine ecosystem
and remedy any harm caused to our environment.
The Mauritian population was reassured on a number of occasions
by the Government that there was no occurrence of any oil spill and
that all precautions were being taken to prevent any oil spillage.
A number of measures were taken by the relevant institutions
including:
