The salvage operation on Tuesday was successful, a total of 6450 litres of fuel oil was pumped from the two trawlers and transported in Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) by the Police Helicopter Squadron. Approximately 15 tonnes of rotten fish were also taken ashore for destruction. A first attempt to tow the fish to the port will be made on Wednesday, with all precautions. 13,550 litres of fuel remain to be pumped
The two Taiwanese fishing boats Maan Yu Feng 168 and Maan Yu Weng 01 will soon be cleared from the turtle point between Grande Rivière Nord-Ouest and Bain des Dames. The Salvage Team and the Greek company, Poly Green, are doing their utmost to ensure that this operation is a smooth one, in this case without any oil leaks, especially after the resounding success of the refloating and towing to port of the Wen Hung Dar 168, which has been stuck in Pointe-aux-Sables since Wednesday 23 February and which contained 80 tonnes of fuel oil in its tank. In addition, the cleaning teams of Poly Green, which is supported by the Mauritian police, have also started to remove spoiled fish from the holds of these two trawlers.
The two vessels will have to be lightened as much as possible to allow a near-perfect operation, thus avoiding unfortunate consequences on the environmental level. The two trawlers have started to take on water but no oil leak has been detected. The operations will continue on Wednesday 1st with the ambition to complete the pumping of one of the two less affected vessels after evaluation and a first attempt to tow it to the port.
As for the two dogs that were abandoned on board, one of them was rescued and put under the assistance of the MSAW. However, due to its state of health, it was euthanised. The same fate was decided for the second one still on board, it will also be euthanised, not only due to its degrading health but especially its level of aggressiveness caused by the panic and the abandonment.
