EXCLUSIVE: Satellite Image Captures Precise Moment Of Breakup Of Wakashio Off Coast Of Mauritius

Private satellite operator, Planet, captures the dramatic moment from space on Saturday 15 August 2020 at 10.14am local time, when water came rushing into the disintegrating hull of the Japanese iron ore bulk carrier, MV Wakashio, triggering the biggest ecological disaster ever faced in the Indian Ocean.

The MV Wakashio had completed an 18 hour refueling stop in the Port of Singapore and had been just 12 days into its long journey to Brazil to pick up a heavy cargo of iron ore.

With over 1 million gallons of heavy bunker fuel oil in its tanks (3800 metric tons), the vessel plowed into the pristine coral reefs of Mauritius in the midst of three internationally renown nature reserves, containing some of the rarest and most endangered species on the planet, as well as Mauritius’ largest coral barrier reef around Pointe D’Esny in the Southeast of the country.

In a statement four days ago on 11 August 2020, the owner of the MV Wakashio confirmed that over 200,000 gallons (720 metric tons) had already spilled into the pristine coral lagoons, and the resulting oil slick could be seen from space.

As of 15 August 2020, it remains unclear how many gallons remained on board the vessel as the hull began to disintegrate.

Satellite analysis of the unfolding drama during the day of Saturday 15 August using a range of the latest satellite technologies and sensors reveal that salvage vessels were no longer alongside the hull of the Wakashio as the hull split apart.

The state of the massive operation to pump out any remaining heavy fuel is uncertain as weather conditions became windy overnight.

Five factors make this spill a particularly toxic combination: the nature of heavy fuel bunker oil, the volume of the spill, the location of the spill amid some of the most endangered (but well monitored) species on the planet, the added potency of Mauritius’ tropical sunshine on heavy bunker fuel oil, and the time of the year when the cooler Southern Hemisphere winter that usually attracts whales for breeding off the coast at this time of year, also traps heavy oil remnants for longer.

This could mean the effect of this pollution could be felt for decades to come.

Impact on coastal property values

With the spill across some of Mauritius’ most exclusive and expensive homes in the luxury Pointe D’Esny coastal town, impacts on Mauritius’ five star tourism industry, human health and priceless biodivresity impacts, and the extent of the spill expanding over 14 miles within 5 days along the windy kitesurfing hotspot of the East Coast of Mauritius, this may go down as one of the most expensive vessel crashes in history.

With lessons still fresh from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 in the US and significant advances in the decade since then into marine biology and genetic technologies, scientists may – for the first time – truly be able to assess the full extent of a heavy bunker fuel oil spill that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye.

Already a massive national sampling effort is being mobilized across the extent of Mauritius’ East Coast to collect the vital scientific evidence to fully understand the implications of the spill, and which will be so critical in any arbitration hearing with the insurers of the vessel. Mauritius has some of the best research universities in Africa, several advanced marine science capabilities on the island, a former President who was one of the world’s foremost Biodiversity scientists, a well educated workforce and a large volunteer army of fishermen and tourist boat operators who could immediately be trained and mobilized for such a vast collection effort where the early days of collection are so critical.

The eyes of the shipping world are now firmly on Mauritius.

Many questions remain unanswered about the cause of the accident and how such a large bulk carrier that was full of toxic heavy fuel oil, and was being carried in a single hull vessel, plowed straight into the pristine reefs of Mauritius without any indication of attempting to change speed or direction.

An inquiry into the cause of the accident has begun in Mauritius, as the Wakashio’s vessel owners have sent salvage and containment vessels into the area.

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