India Rushes Emergency Technical Support to Mauritius to Control Oil Spill

New Delhi: Delhi as part of its Indian Ocean Region outreach has dispatched over 30 tonnes of technical equipment and material on board an Indian Force Aircraft to Mauritius to supplement the country’s ongoing oil spill containment and salvage operations.

The move in India’s extended neighbourhood was made following a request of the Government of Mauritius (GoM) for assistance in dealing with the environmental crisis due to oil spill on its south-east coast.

The specialized equipment on board IAF aircraft, consisting of Ocean Booms, River Booms, Disc Skimmers, Heli Skimmers, Power packs, Blowers, Salvage barge and Oil absorbent Graphene pads and other accessories, is specifically designed to contain the oil slick, skim oil from water, and assist in clean up and salvage operations, according to a MEA statement.

The equipment is being provided by Indian Coast Guard which is the designated national authority for oil spill response in Indian waters under the National Oil Spill-Disaster Contingency Plan(NOS-DCP).

A 10-member Technical Response Team, consisting of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) personnel specially trained for dealing with oil spill containment measures, has also been deployed to Mauritius to extend necessary technical and operational assistance at the site.

On July 25, a bulk carrier vessel, MV Wakashio, ran aground on the reef at Pointe d’Esny on the South eastern part of Mauritius close to ecologically sensitive reserves and prominent tourist destinations. The 300 m long vessel, owned by M/s Okiyo Maritime Corp./ Nagashiki Shipping Co Ltd (a Japanese company) was sailing to Brazil with no cargo but approx 4000 metric tons of fuel for its use on board, sources said.

Early salvage operations to pull the vessel out from the reef could not yield results followed by a period of rough weather and heavy sea swells that prevented evacuation of oil from the vessel. The Government of Mauritius (GoM) declared an Environmental Emergency on August 7 after a breach in the vessel and oil leakages were observed on August 6.

The Indian High Commission in Mauritius remained in constant touch with the Mauritian authorities on the situation since the beginning, sources informed. Emergency rounds of consultations were undertaken with Mauritian authorities to ascertain the situation and any immediate local support that could be extended in the salvage operations.

As an immediate step, Indian Oil (Mauritius) Limited (IOML) was asked to extend all possible assistance to the GoM. Experts from IOML were continuously advising the GoM on ongoing salvage operations. On 7 August, IOML moved its barge ‘Tresta Star’ towards the site to extend all possible assistance including debunkering of oil from the vessel. The IOML barge was able to evacuate 1000 tonnes of fuel oil from the intact tanks by August 10, sources informed.

Given the pre-eminent role of India in Mauritius as the largest development partner and a net provider of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the Indian Ocean region, there has been huge expectation in Mauritius, particularly from the dominant Indian diaspora, for urgent assistance from India, sources claimed.

“As soon as the GoM’s request for assistance with specific requirements was received, immediate efforts were undertaken, led by MEA with MoP&NG, MoD and relevant stakeholders, to mobilize equipment and material assistance for supply to Mauritius for urgently dealing with the oil spill crisis,” a source said.

Immediate coordination was carried out between MoPNG, Indian Coast Guard and Ministry of Defence to assess the material and equipment that could be immediately supplied as well as the fastest means to transport it to Mauritius. Foreign Secretary remained in touch with CDS in real time to take stock of the situation.

In addition, the IAF aircraft is also carrying 10,000 high capacity oil absorbent pads that have been specially procured and supplied by Indian Oil Corporation. The pads, manufactured in India are specially designed using grapheme (an allotrope of carbon) which are extremely useful in salage operations in and around beaches where oil has spread. It is expected that in addition to the containment measures put in place using their specialized equipment by the ICG team, the pads will prove to be highly useful for the local communities in cleaning up the polluted beaches and lagoons, sources said.

The Indian assistance follows recent support provided by India to Mauritius in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, including supply of essential medicines, a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines as well as a medical assistance team sent as part of Mission ‘Sagar’, according to a MEA statement.

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Source: ET
Image Courtesy: VPO Global

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