The Leviathan of Modern Age

With each passing day, Earth gets closer to the end all because of the systems of insurmountable greed that humans have created. A glimpse of this was the oil spill in Mauritius.

The extent of the damage; Image Source- BBC

While t-shirts with “there is no plan-et B” have been around for a long time, it is only visceral imagery like the ocean being on fire that makes people realise the gravity of climate change. In the month of July, a pipeline started leaking in the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean went ablaze. The pictures of the eye of fire shook the entire world. Unfortunately, such gas and oil spills, which are extremely bad for the environment, are a common occurrence.

In August 2020, a huge spill of more than 1,000 tonnes of oil occurred near Mauritius on the Indian Ocean’s protected coastline. This leak from the Wakashio vessel began on 6 August in close proximity to a coral reef. Oil in the ocean is disastrous for maritime ecosystems and its negative effects even reach beyond the coasts. Humans and animals both suffer greatly due to it.

Most of the oil got into the waters of the Mahebourg Lagoon, one of the most pristine coastal areas of the region- a rare sight in our world where water pollution is rampant. While 3,000 tonnes of cargo was pumped out of the ship before it got decapitated completely, the damage done to coral reefs and surrounding marine life is irreparable and irreversible.

When the news of this environmental disaster reached out, locals and environmentalists demanded an investigation. In the course of this investigation, some concerning details came out. Wakashio was supposed to stay away from the coastline, maintaining a distance of 16 Kilometers, instead, it was extremely close to it. Crew members also revealed that they were partying when the vessel began to show signs of incoming problems.

These facts made one thing clear, the spill could have been avoided only if more caution had been taken by those on the deck.

Given this careless approach that led to the environmental destruction on such a big scale, the captain of Wakashio, Indian citizen Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar was arrested on 18 August 2020. He was taken into custody on the charges of endangering safe navigation as per international laws.

Alongside him, the chief officer of the ship, Tilak Ratna Suboda, a Sri Lankan was also arrested by the authorities.

Many environmentalists pointed out how the blame should also be borne by the government of Mauritius as it took no action after a long delay and tried to cover its incompetency by blaming weather conditions.

Various countries joined their hands with the United Nations to clear out the petrochemical toxins from the water.

While this extremely painstaking task is both labour and capital-intensive and it also threatens the lives of those working, it cannot repair the damage that had been done.

The ship was Japanese, the staff was Indian and Sri Lankan and the waters were a part of Mauritius, no wonder, scapegoating found its way. There is no denying the fact that the officers in charge are responsible for what happens on their ships, in most cases, the companies owning these vessels completely deny any accountability.

After his arrest, Captain Sunil’s wife began a crusade to free her husband and it turned into one of the most high-profile legal battles of Mauritius. While no one knows what the future holds for Nandeshwar, the one thing sure is the incoming of climatic doom if humans don’t mend their ways.