AI is the answer to the Mauritius oil spill

Daren Mauree / L'Express Maurice / AFP - Getty Images

Breaking down the Mauritius oil spill

A stricken ship has leaked over 1,000 tons of oil over the coast of Mauritius. Experts fear that the ship may soon break in half, which could have devastating effects on the surrounding environment.

UPDATE 8/17/2020: The cargo ship split in two after sitting a few miles off the Mauritian coast for almost a week. Fortunately, most of the oil had been removed from the ship prior to splitting apart.

How it happened

It is believed that harsh weather conditions caused the leak.

Currently, activists are scrambling with make-shift solutions to clean up the oil and minimize damage. Some activists may face fines as they break local protocols for clean-up efforts.

Activists blame their hasty violation on the haphazard government response as groups take a critical first-step toward mitigation efforts.

It is important to note that as activists clean today, the risks for a further spill lingers.

One activist, David Savauge, worked through the night, using a net stuffed with dried sugarcane leaves in an effort to prevent the oil from flooding the island. Savauge hasn’t left the waterfront since the initial spill began.

NGOs have recommended to activists to avoide the dangers of exposure to oil, and instead focus on building booms. For those unfamiliar, an oil boom is a temporary floating barrier designed to contain an oil spill. Responders commonly use oil booms to fight oil spills.

About the ship

The cracked vessel, MV Wakashio, is operated by the Japanese Mitsui OSK Lines.

In response, Japan’s Foreign Ministry has sent over a six-member team from Japan Disaster Relief “upon request from” the Mauritanian government. Not a good look for Japan.

The country had been handling COVID-19, very well, totaling a manageable 10 deaths from the outbreak within its borders. Local officials were planning to get tourism back and running, but this major disaster sets them back months.

Ecological disaster

The spill occurred near two environmentally protected marine ecosystems, as well as the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve. There are also mangrove plantations and well-known beaches nearby. The disaster has caused serious frustration for locals, who depend heavily on tourism and fishing.

Threatened birds, captive fruit bats, and thousands of plants were removed from a nearby island, Ile aux Aigrettes by conservation activists. Before the spill, Mahebourg Lagoon, known for its pristine turquoise waters, had corals growing and marine life returning due to rejuvenation efforts in the area since 2001.

Human error causes most spills

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), spills can be caused by:

• people making mistakes or being careless.
• equipment breaking down.
• natural disasters such as hurricanes.
• deliberate acts by terrorists, countries at war, vandals, or illegal dumpers.

For the Mauritius oil spill, an equipment breakdown seems to be the most likely cause. The ship operator is pointing to harsh weather conditions leading up to the spill. And in a recent conference in Tokyo, an executive from Mitsui OSK Lines has apologized for the “trouble we have caused”.

With that type of language, we can assume that either there was some form of negligence or human error involved in the equipment breakdown, regardless of impact from sea conditions.