Republic of Mauritius- Government is taking necessary actions to contain oil spill from MV Wakashio

He
was speaking at a joint press conference yesterday with the Minister of Blue Economy, Marine
Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo, in Port-Louis.

Minister
Ramano stated that the country is facing an unprecedented environmental
situation as the vessel has grounded in a very
sensitive zone which includes the Blue
Bay Marine Park, Iles aux Aigrettes, and the Ramsar sites. He
indicated that additional sea booms are being used since the detection of cracks in the ship hull. A command post has also been set up
to closely monitor the situation, he added. 

He made an appeal to all private
maritime operators to join forces so as to limit the spread of the spill
in the lagoon. He pointed out that Government is seeking help from neighbouring
countries and that discussions have also been initiated with the French
authorities to activate the Polmar plan so as to protect the lagoon. 

The Minister added that a salvage team
consisting of 11 members were working to secure and stabilise the ship but had
to be evacuated due to the cracks in the ship hull. Nevertheless, he said, a
technical team is working to assess the actual situation and come up with a technical
plan to proceed with the pumping of the fuel at the earliest. 

As
for the Director of Shipping, Mr Alain Donat, also present at the press
conference, he stated that necessary equipment from Greece will
be reaching the country soon. The priority, he said, is to pump the 3894 of fuel
at the earliest.

Government Information Service, Prime Minister’s Office, Level
6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org  Website: http://gis.govmu.org  Mobile App:
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