Satellite Image Of Wakashio Shows Vessel About To Break Up 1280 Meters Off The Shore Of Mauritius

Satellite imagery taken at 10.00am local time on Friday 14 August 2020 from Planet and using analysis from global maritime analytics company, Windward, show the stricken Japanese freighter Wakashio at a distance of 1 Nautical Miles (1280 meters) from the closest point to shore off the Southeast coast of Mauritius, an area known as Pointe D’Esny.

Cracks in the vessel had visibly increased on Friday 14 August 2020, and by Saturday 15 August 2020, fears were mounting that the vessel was about to break into two.

Increasing patrols seen around Wakashio on 15 August

As fears grew on Saturday 15 August 2020 that the Wakashio was breaking into two, satellite analysis from Windward reveal that one of the largest vessels in the Mauritius National Coastguard fleet, the MCGS Baccuda, began patrols at an accelerated rate (a speed of 10 nautical miles) around the edge of the busy shipping lanes that surround the Indian Ocean Island.

The Barracuda was built in Kolkata, India, and was the first military vessel to be exported by an Indian shipyard. It was launched in August 2013, and delivered to the Mauritian Coastguard in September 2014 during Indian Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s visit to the Indian Island nation.