Macron’s Interventions Backfire As Mauritius To Sink The Wakashio In Whale Nursing Grounds

Just as it appeared that the plight of the Wakashio could not get any worse after most of its remaining oil had spilled into the coral reefs of Mauritius, it appears the legacy of the Wakashio could now be felt for decades to come as the crisis entered its 25th day.

Local media in Mauritius began reporting on 18 August 2020 that the broken front half of the vessel would be towed 8 miles to the East of the island and sunk.

Prime whale nursing grounds

That location is an area known as a famous nursing ground for whales and their calves, who are in the full swing of their migration from Antarctica in the midst of the Mauritian winter.

It is during these times that Mauritius experiences its famous major whale migrations of various species that often give birth and mate off the coast of Mauritius. They migrate up to Mauritius from Antarctica each year following an abundant food supply of krill. Mauritius is known for its many whale sightings at this time of year, with iconic species of Humpback Whales, Great Sperm Whales, Blue Whales, among several other whale species. This is an important breeding time for such cetaceans, especially in the cooler waters (Austral Winter).

Assessments are still being carried out on any impacts of the heavy fuel oil pollution on whale behavior in the Bay caused by the Wakashio, since it ran aground on Mauritius’ largest living coral reef system 25 days ago.

It is not clear what the impact of the rusting metal of the large vessel would have on the nursing grounds of these whale populations or on the fragile Coral Reef systems along the East shore of the vessel or on French Island, La Reunion, which would be down current of the sunken Wakashio wreck.

The biggest ship on the sea

The Wakashio is the biggest category of mainstream ocean going vessels on the sea – known as ‘Capesize.’

This category of vessel is so large that it is unable to fit through the Suez Canal, and hence travels around the coast of Mauritius. Of approximately 60,000 large ocean going vessels, only 500 are Capesize, putting the Wakashio in the top 1% in terms of size of ship in the world.

For comparison, this is a similar length to a US Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier.

French and Japanese officials did not object to plan

Both French and Japanese officials are present on the ground in Mauritius and appeared to support the decision to dump the hull of the vessel into Mauritian waters at that particular location, despite French expertise in the Indian Ocean with the French colony of La Reunion being a sister island of Mauritius linked along the same underwater volcanic chain.

Vessel owner Nagashiki Shipping Co Ltd has been approached whether they also support the decision to dump the vessel in Mauritian waters at that location.

In a press conference by Sebastien Lecornuu on 17 August, the French Oversea Minister was criticized for not appearing to endorse alternatives to the sinking of the Wakashio in Mauritian waters, that is now causing outrage on social media on the island.

More questions for global shipping

An assessment of satellite weather reports revealed that are no major storms in the region. Once more, important questions are being asked about the global shipping industry, and whether poor regulatory oversight, a lax attitude toward both sustainability and poor ability to monitor safety standards were the main contributors to this disaster, compounded by other clear failures in leadership that appear systemic in nature.

How could a vessel that was only 13 years old, and one of the biggest in the world, could have an accident and sink off the coast in a world class tourist and biodiversity hotspot with the eyes of the world and global experts watching.

Decades of heavy metal pollution if Wakashio is sunk

There has not been a statement about the pollution and heavy metal implications for dumping such a large iron-ore carrying vessel amid grounds which are also bountiful in tuna and other deep ocean marine species.

Mauritian tuna had some of the lowest concentrations of heavy metals than any tuna in the world, compared with the significantly high levels of contaminants within tuna from the East Pacific Ocean. The presence of such metals could have implications for this important industry of Mauritius.

It seems the final chapter of this stricken vessel continues to drag out. Multiple more natural habitats of tuna feeding grounds, whale nursing grounds and the potential impacts of the size of such a large vessel on any of the fragile coral reef systems and marine life that surround the Indian Ocean island as well as on the French Island of La Reunion, into whose direction the ocean currents would also take any pollutants and rust over time.

President Macron’s interventions were welcomed with open arms by the Mauritian people just 10 days ago.

However, it appears the fate of the French President’s Mauritian adventure is likely to go the same way as the Wakashio: beached, broken and sunk.