Open Letter to Hon Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime ministre, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity
MV Wakashio: “Commission D’enquête”
Following the ecological disaster, which the stranding of the MV Wakashio represents, there are numerous questions being raised and even lesser answers being obtained. In the face of such obscure times, it is imperative for an Inquiry Commission “commission d’enquête” to be instituted to sift through the oil and bring the truth to light.
Admits the several questions being raised, the most pertinent one is why did the MV Wakashio hit our reefs? The shipping lane passing close to the Mauritian coast is in fact one of the most concentrated shipping lanes in the world connecting Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Satellite data has revealed that the MV Wakashio had been on a collision course with Mauritius for several days and was much further North than other vessels using this shipping lane. Furthermore, the MV Wakashio, was travelling at 11 knots, which whilst being standard for bulk carrier ships at sea, did not show any slow down prior to impact.
Vessel transponders tracked from space show the MV Wakashio crossed the Indian Ocean and entered the national waters (Exclusive Economic Zone) of Mauritius on 23rd July 2020, two days prior to it’s grounding on Sunday 25th July 2020. This raises questions about why the vessel’s GPS tracking did not indicate that it was heading toward an impact with land, or why the National Coast Guard did not intervene with sufficient warning, given the clear trajectory toward the island. The possibility of insurance fraud cannot be discarded.
The fact that the MV Wakashio was so far off course on a direct hit to Mauritius raises alarming questions regarding national security, coastal protection and border control. The National Coast Guard has failed to do its only job, which is to guard our coasts. Early detection of the ship’s course and an early intervention by the National Coast Guard would have certainly prevented a disaster of this scale. This is violation of section 3 of the Maritime Zones Act.
Once the ship hit our reefs on the 25th July 2020, the Government did not give it the priority it deserved and judged the risk of oil spillage as “average” when the MV Wakashio was carrying 4,000 tons of heavy bunker fuel. Had the Government declared a state of emergency then and there, deployed booms and conveyed vessels to pump the fuel out of the MV Wakashio, our clear pristine waters would still be as blue.
There are concerns that the Director of Environment has mismanaged the crisis leading to NGO’s and Mauritian citizens having to get involved to protect our coasts, despite the clear order from the Government to leave the clean-up to local authorities. The Director of Environment must be held accountable and brought before the Inquiry Commission to provide explanations on the management of this ecological crisis and answer why despite being mandated to act and having resources at his disposal, Mauritian citizens had to take matters in their own hands. There is violation of the Merchant Shipping Act.
Suttyhudeo Tengur
President
13 August 2020