Damaged Ship Leaking Oil off Mauritius Could Split: PM

Attempts to stabilize the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tons of fuel from its hold have failed
Attempts to stabilize the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tons of fuel from its hold have failed
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Damaged Ship Leaking Oil off Mauritius Could Split: PM

Attempts to stabilize the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tons of fuel from its hold have failed
Attempts to stabilize the stricken vessel and pump 4,000 tons of fuel from its hold have failed

A ship that ran aground off Mauritius leaking tonnes of oil into the ocean is cracking, the prime minister said Sunday, threatening an even greater ecological and economic disaster for the island nation.

More than 1,000 tons of fuel has seeped from the bulk carrier MV Wakashio into the azure sea off southeast Mauritius, befouling the coral reefs, white-sand beaches and pristine lagoons that lure tourists from around the globe.

But another 2,500 ton

s remain aboard the stricken vessel, which ran aground on a reef on July 25 but only started oozing from a crack in the hull in the past week.

Experts warn a further rupture could unleash a spill that will be beyond catastrophic for the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which Mauritius, and its economy, relies.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said response crews had managed to stymie the leak for now, but were bracing for the worst.

"The cracks have grown. The situation is even worse," he told reporters late Sunday.

"The risk of the boat breaking in half still exists."

Japan said Sunday it would send a six-member expert team to assist with what Mauritius has declared an unprecedented environmental emergency.

France also dispatched a naval vessel, a military aircraft and technical advisers from nearby Reunion Island after Mauritius appealed for international help.

Thousands of volunteers, many smeared head-to-toe in black sludge, have marshalled along the coastline, stringing together miles of improvised floating barriers made of straw in a desperate attempt to hold back the oily tide.

Mitsui OSK Lines, which operates the vessel owned by another Japanese company, promised Sunday to "make all-out efforts to resolve the case".

"We are terribly sorry," the shipping firm's vice president, Akihiko Ono, told reporters in Tokyo.

But some fear the damage is already done.

Aerial images show the enormity of the disaster, with huge stretches of crystal-clear seas around the marooned cargo ship stained a deep inky black.

Thick muck has coated mangrove forests and unspoiled inlets up and down the coastline, exacting irreparable harm and undoing years of painstaking conservation work, environmental activists say.

- 'Already too late' -

The slick has already begun drifting further up the coast, fanned along by strong winds and currents.

"I think it's already too late. If the ship breaks in two, the situation will be out of control," Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, an oceanographer and environmental engineer, told AFP.

"We´re talking about a major disaster that is progressing, and it´s getting more complicated hour by hour."

Pressure is mounting on the government to explain why more was not done in the two weeks since the bulker ran aground.

The opposition has called for the resignation of the environment and fisheries ministers, while volunteers have ignored an official order to leave the clean-up operation to local authorities, donning rubber gloves to sift through the sludge.

"People by the thousands are coming together. No one is listening to the government anymore," said Ashok Subron, an environmental activist at Mahebourg, one of the worst-hit areas.

"People have realised that they need to take things into their hands. We are here to protect our fauna and flora."

Police boarded the Japanese-owned but Panamanian-flagged Wakashio on Sunday and seized the ship's log book and black box as part of investigations into the disaster.

The bulker struck a reef at Pointe d'Esny, an ecological jewel fringed by idyllic beaches, colourful reefs, sanctuaries for rare and endemic wildlife, and unique RAMSAR-listed wetlands.

Mauritius and its 1.3 million inhabitants depend crucially on the sea for ecotourism, having fostered a reputation as a conservation success story and a world-class destination for nature lovers.

The spill is a double blow for tourist operators who had hoped foreign tourists could soon return to Mauritius. The Indian Ocean nation has no active cases of coronavirus, and had declared wary victory after a long stretch without any new infections.

But it also relies on its natural bounty for food and income. Seafarers in Mahebourg, where the once-spotless seas have turned a sickly brown, worried about the future.

"Fishing is our only activity. We don't know how we will be able to feed our families," one fishermen, who gave his name only as Michael, told AFP.



Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil was a "red line" after the United States submitted its proposal for a new nuclear deal.

"Continuing enrichment on Iranian soil is our red line," Araghchi said while on a visit to Lebanon, adding that his country will respond to the proposal in the coming days based on Iran's "principled positions and the interests of the Iranian people".

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that Iran will not be allowed any enrichment of uranium under a potential deal with Washington.

Araghchi said the US proposal, submitted through mediator Oman, has "many ambiguities and questions".

On Saturday, Iran said it received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal following five rounds of talks that started in April and were mediated by Oman.

Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between Washington and Tehran in the talks to seal a nuclear deal, with Iran defending what it says is its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program and the US calling it a "red line".

"We will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium in Iran. However, we are ready to take steps... to ensure that this enrichment will not lead to the production of nuclear weapons," Araghchi said.

Araghchi was visiting Beirut following a stop in Cairo on Monday, where he met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grossi on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had increased production of highly enriched uranium.

The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity -- close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.