The fear is palpable. Environmentalists, citizens, engaged and not so engaged, fishermen and Pointe aux Sables population are afraid of only one thing, a second oil spill by the Weng Hang Dar 168 which is still stuck on the reefs at the level of Bain des Dames in Pointe aux Sables. This Taiwanese boat is already taking on water. Two other boats, the Foo Man Yu Feng n°1 and the Foo Man Yu Weng 168, are also in difficulty not far from this place. Tugs followed one another but to no avail. The countdown of a Black Day has already started. The trauma of the MV Wakashio on 25 July 2020, where 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil was leaked into the lagoons of Pointe d’Esny, still haunts.
The whys and wherefores!
If the ships took this trajectory, it was to protect themselves from the post-Emnati effects, that is to avoid the swells and gusts. The ship will have anchored in this area. At 2.15am on Wednesday morning, the captain transmitted a distress signal to the National Coast Guard and the Mauritius Ports Authority. Since then, towing operations by the Ochna, which left the port at 2.55am, are still underway but to no avail. The reason for this is the rough sea. As for the Foo Man Yu Feng 01 and the Foo Man Yu Weng 168, they were returning to port after the cyclone, but were caught on a sandbank at Pointe Tortue, about 1 kilometre from Bain des Dames
A dangerous zone since 2021
This vessel, Weng Hang Dar 168 is 50m long and 6m wide and has 25 crew members on board. It is in the Port Area and ran aground 897 metres off the coast of Pointe-aux-Sables and drifted onto a sandbank. This is an area that was already listed as dangerous since the sinking of the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 588 in March 2021, victim of the gusts of the tropical depression Iman. According to a press release from the local representative of the Taiwanese vessel, Jean François Tsang, representative of Chang Fong Marine, following a communication with the captain of the Weng Hang Dar 168, the engine room has already started to take water! The crews of the three trawlers are safe and were rescued by the NCG elements despite the two-metre high swell that made the rescue operation difficult. The operation was also assisted by four aircraft from the Police Helicopter Squadron. All 53 members were taken to hospital for treatment.
Polygreen to the rescue
It is estimated that the Weng Hang Dar 168 has 90 tonnes of fuel oil on board. The other two vessels are reported to contain a total of 30 tonnes of fuel oil. A crisis committee was set up. On leaving the emergency meeting this afternoon Sudheer Maudhoo, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Traffic, said: “No oil leakage has been detected. The MPA and the relevant authorities are currently meeting. The company Polygreen will be in charge of the refloating operation. The situation will be assessed by the engineer who was on Reunion Island for the sinking of the Tresta Star. Afterwards, an investigation will be initiated.
Indeed, the Greek company Polygreen Mauritius has already installed several metres of protective buoys, encircling the boats to contain any leakage. UCS, MPA and SMF took part in this operation. The Vasileos, a tugboat and clean-up vessel, was dispatched from Reunion Island where it was working on the Tresta Star, which had run aground in Saint-Philippe, stuck on the rocks at Le Tremblet.
Speaking to the press, Kavi Ramano, Minister of the Environment, reassured the population that “the risk to the environment is present but minimal. The Salvage Team’s priority will be to extract the 120 tonnes of diesel”. The operations are to be followed…
The port authorities are already under fire
Criticism is coming from all sides, from politicians and environmentalists. According to initial findings, the fault lies with the port authorities. The ships would have followed the instructions of the port when Cyclone Emnati was approaching. They were asked to leave the harbour and anchor outside the port. They are facing the repercussions of the cyclone. This is reminiscent of the case of the Tresta Star, the Mauritian ship, which was stuck on the rocks of Le Tremblet in the south of Reunion Island when the previous cyclone Batsirai hit.
