When a shadow falls on Paradise
August 11, 2020 7:48 AM Subscribe
On July 25th Japanese owned MV Wakashio, 203,000 GT went aground off Mauritius and the island now races to prevent an ecological disaster.
Frustrated by the government's inaction locals flock to help in every way possible. An initiative led by David Sauvage of ''Rezistans ek Alternativ'' has peple making bagasse based oil prevention booms. “Low-cost, low-tech, readily available materials that soak up oil''. Other people are cutting off their hair to assist the effort.
It is the worst environmental crisis in a generation. @Ariel_Saramandi is a local journalist worth following on twitter
Here's some news for you: the crew members were questioned by the police yesterday. They said that they steered the boat closer to the coast...to get an internet connection. They were celebrating a birthday party.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, has said the country should “prepare for a worst-case scenario” as as the vessel is likely to “fall apart” as the crack in the hull widens.
Mauritius is a Tax haven.
Frustrated by the government's inaction locals flock to help in every way possible. An initiative led by David Sauvage of ''Rezistans ek Alternativ'' has peple making bagasse based oil prevention booms. “Low-cost, low-tech, readily available materials that soak up oil''. Other people are cutting off their hair to assist the effort.
It is the worst environmental crisis in a generation. @Ariel_Saramandi is a local journalist worth following on twitter
Here's some news for you: the crew members were questioned by the police yesterday. They said that they steered the boat closer to the coast...to get an internet connection. They were celebrating a birthday party.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, has said the country should “prepare for a worst-case scenario” as as the vessel is likely to “fall apart” as the crack in the hull widens.
Mauritius is a Tax haven.
Thanks Adam, great post. I'm livid, and read this this morning.
ship fuel oil isn't especially chemically toxic to marine life, but physical smothering is a major risk
when I read it was fuel oil, alarms went louder, ignorant that fuel oil has a little less impact on environment but does this fuel oil, in it's form, present a greater health danger to wild life and humans then a plain crude spill.
posted by clavdivs at 10:59 AM on August 11, 2020
ship fuel oil isn't especially chemically toxic to marine life, but physical smothering is a major risk
when I read it was fuel oil, alarms went louder, ignorant that fuel oil has a little less impact on environment but does this fuel oil, in it's form, present a greater health danger to wild life and humans then a plain crude spill.
posted by clavdivs at 10:59 AM on August 11, 2020
Black ship fuel oil isn't especially chemically toxic to marine life,
?? I mean...this isn't vegetable oil we're talking about. While this isn't crude, there are heavy elements that mousse and sink faster as marine oil snow, as well as the normal awful volatiles that float for longer and off gas at the surface If there are controlled burns, the particulate will spread into the air...These events have impacts for decades.
posted by eustatic at 11:39 AM on August 11, 2020
?? I mean...this isn't vegetable oil we're talking about. While this isn't crude, there are heavy elements that mousse and sink faster as marine oil snow, as well as the normal awful volatiles that float for longer and off gas at the surface If there are controlled burns, the particulate will spread into the air...These events have impacts for decades.
posted by eustatic at 11:39 AM on August 11, 2020
Close up of hull crack.
Conservationists in the country say a slow response and rough seas have turned what could have been a minor accident into an ecological and economic disaster.
Satellite data reveals that the vessel was travelling at 11 knots, which is standard for bulk carrier ships at sea, but more importantly did not show any slow down prior to impact.
So multiple shit show. Criminally poor seamanship and abysmal government response to the disaster for which
Nagashiki Shipping Company have apologized - big deal.
Earlier it was made illegal for Volunteers to assist
On Sunday Ariel tweeted
Last thing until 11am. If ever I tweet that I've been arrested, can I count on your support? Because international solidarity's the only thing that will help.
...the gov. has made it illegal to help in the Mahebourg waterfront. Don't know if they'll arrest people today. For the record, the authorities aren't doing much at all. The clean-up is a citizen-led initiative.
posted by adamvasco at 11:40 AM on August 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Conservationists in the country say a slow response and rough seas have turned what could have been a minor accident into an ecological and economic disaster.
Satellite data reveals that the vessel was travelling at 11 knots, which is standard for bulk carrier ships at sea, but more importantly did not show any slow down prior to impact.
So multiple shit show. Criminally poor seamanship and abysmal government response to the disaster for which
Nagashiki Shipping Company have apologized - big deal.
Earlier it was made illegal for Volunteers to assist
On Sunday Ariel tweeted
Last thing until 11am. If ever I tweet that I've been arrested, can I count on your support? Because international solidarity's the only thing that will help.
...the gov. has made it illegal to help in the Mahebourg waterfront. Don't know if they'll arrest people today. For the record, the authorities aren't doing much at all. The clean-up is a citizen-led initiative.
posted by adamvasco at 11:40 AM on August 11, 2020 [3 favorites]
Anyway, I hope that the Skytruth organization in the US can help, they specialize in tracking oil spills, and have been a great boon to some of us in the USA
posted by eustatic at 11:44 AM on August 11, 2020
posted by eustatic at 11:44 AM on August 11, 2020
The Hair Boom method is interesting, we made many of these on the Gulf Coast in 2010, but it was not exactly a USCG-approved technology.
Also, I really hope/ pray/ will donate to efforts that ensure anyone deploying boom or PIGs or working clean up has access to VOC respirators; the mid- and long-term health prospects of these valiant clean up workers is being determined this week
posted by eustatic at 11:53 AM on August 11, 2020
Also, I really hope/ pray/ will donate to efforts that ensure anyone deploying boom or PIGs or working clean up has access to VOC respirators; the mid- and long-term health prospects of these valiant clean up workers is being determined this week
posted by eustatic at 11:53 AM on August 11, 2020
HFO/IFO doesn't form stable emulsions usually. They do form entrained water states, but there's little apparent external transformation and they're not long-term stable when the energy (ie wave action) stops. Emulsion formation will likely not be a major influence of fate or short-er term behaviour for this spill, in my view.
HFO is also really hard to get into the microscopic (1-30 micrometre) droplet size that can form marine snow, that is to say via wave action in open water with oil-fines-interactions. IFO/HFO tends to form macroscopic (>1 mm) tarballs when interacting with fines at sea. Marine snow is a much more likely outcome for a lower viscosity crude.
The major way fine oil particles can form from high-viscosity fuels is via a shoreline oil-sediment interaction. The shear energy of surf and storms (especially) is enough for particulates to essentially break off the oil mass. This is going to happen on the reefs for example, although the concentrations of the OSI particles are often quite attenuated.
HFOs are typically less than 2% volatiles; IFOs are up to 5%, while a DWH crude for example was closer to 40%. There are absolutely concerns for low mw volatiles and semi-volatiles, but the residual fuels these days are much lower, often by an order of magnitude or even two, in polycyclic aromatics than crudes. They're also less able to form oxygenates and naphthenic acid-like structures that were major drives of toxicity in the DWH/Macondo events.
Burning is considered fairly optimal for this kind of spill if you can do it safely. Burning has the great advantage of being a removal technique as opposed to a treatment in place or mitigation one. So the ecosystem burden, particularly in the long term is greatly reduced post-burn. Air emissions are a concern, but the transient soot generation is often considered a much lower impact that leaving oil in place. I don't think they'll be able to arrange this now, but had they been able to, this would have been one of the best options available to them, especially with essentially no equipment.
This spill will absolutely have remainders and echos that last a decade or more. All I'm trying to do is put out what info I have, and what CEDRE (the French scientific advisory body that has a few folks en route today) will be basing their decisions on.
posted by bonehead at 12:05 PM on August 11, 2020 [11 favorites]
HFO is also really hard to get into the microscopic (1-30 micrometre) droplet size that can form marine snow, that is to say via wave action in open water with oil-fines-interactions. IFO/HFO tends to form macroscopic (>1 mm) tarballs when interacting with fines at sea. Marine snow is a much more likely outcome for a lower viscosity crude.
The major way fine oil particles can form from high-viscosity fuels is via a shoreline oil-sediment interaction. The shear energy of surf and storms (especially) is enough for particulates to essentially break off the oil mass. This is going to happen on the reefs for example, although the concentrations of the OSI particles are often quite attenuated.
HFOs are typically less than 2% volatiles; IFOs are up to 5%, while a DWH crude for example was closer to 40%. There are absolutely concerns for low mw volatiles and semi-volatiles, but the residual fuels these days are much lower, often by an order of magnitude or even two, in polycyclic aromatics than crudes. They're also less able to form oxygenates and naphthenic acid-like structures that were major drives of toxicity in the DWH/Macondo events.
Burning is considered fairly optimal for this kind of spill if you can do it safely. Burning has the great advantage of being a removal technique as opposed to a treatment in place or mitigation one. So the ecosystem burden, particularly in the long term is greatly reduced post-burn. Air emissions are a concern, but the transient soot generation is often considered a much lower impact that leaving oil in place. I don't think they'll be able to arrange this now, but had they been able to, this would have been one of the best options available to them, especially with essentially no equipment.
This spill will absolutely have remainders and echos that last a decade or more. All I'm trying to do is put out what info I have, and what CEDRE (the French scientific advisory body that has a few folks en route today) will be basing their decisions on.
posted by bonehead at 12:05 PM on August 11, 2020 [11 favorites]
Alexey Ohrim is arussian photographer who currently lives on the island and has taken distressing photos of volunteers head to foot in oil.
99 percent of the success on the southeast coast of Mauritius is at the hands of volunteers. The government banned citizens from independently taking part in eliminating the consequences of the banker's accident, but what would have happened to the coast if not for thousands of volunteers?
It's amazing what success ordinary people have achieved in cleaning the coastline in such a short time. Thousands of people around the island sew booms filling them with sugarcane leaves. Then these booms are transported to the coast, where with their help fuel is collected and pulled to the coast from the ocean surface, which is then pumped out into special tanks. Further, all garbage, including booms, is sent for recycling. The effectiveness of this process is amazing! Crazy successes have been achieved in recent days. Experts say that it looks like we will be able to get off with a little blood) Now all the hope is that the remaining fuel will be pumped out from the ship that has suffered an accident before it splits across the floors. And it's already bursting at the seams ...
posted by adamvasco at 7:49 AM on August 12, 2020
99 percent of the success on the southeast coast of Mauritius is at the hands of volunteers. The government banned citizens from independently taking part in eliminating the consequences of the banker's accident, but what would have happened to the coast if not for thousands of volunteers?
It's amazing what success ordinary people have achieved in cleaning the coastline in such a short time. Thousands of people around the island sew booms filling them with sugarcane leaves. Then these booms are transported to the coast, where with their help fuel is collected and pulled to the coast from the ocean surface, which is then pumped out into special tanks. Further, all garbage, including booms, is sent for recycling. The effectiveness of this process is amazing! Crazy successes have been achieved in recent days. Experts say that it looks like we will be able to get off with a little blood) Now all the hope is that the remaining fuel will be pumped out from the ship that has suffered an accident before it splits across the floors. And it's already bursting at the seams ...
posted by adamvasco at 7:49 AM on August 12, 2020
Glad to see this: Mauritius oil spill: Almost all fuel oil pumped out of MV Wakashio
Volunteers are mostly a complete headache for the insurers. What happens if they get hurt? Or have long lasting issues like permanent lung damage? Who is responsible for making them wear even minimal protection? There are really no good answers to any of those questions.
posted by bonehead at 11:23 AM on August 12, 2020
Volunteers are mostly a complete headache for the insurers. What happens if they get hurt? Or have long lasting issues like permanent lung damage? Who is responsible for making them wear even minimal protection? There are really no good answers to any of those questions.
posted by bonehead at 11:23 AM on August 12, 2020
Well maybe insurance should have paid for/required professional teams and the lack thereof is their problem as well. If its just an issue that the teams can't get there so fast, then insurance needs to cover the damage due to the delay as well. This is all assuming that the company is privately insured instead of self insured. In an ideal world, the company would have to pay 100% of damages, but in reality, they'll probably only have to pay a fine that's like one quarters profits or some bullshit.
(I work in insurance but not property/casualty, which is where this would be insured, so I don't feel any sympathy for the insurance company that didn't think about this issue.)
posted by LizBoBiz at 8:32 AM on August 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
(I work in insurance but not property/casualty, which is where this would be insured, so I don't feel any sympathy for the insurance company that didn't think about this issue.)
posted by LizBoBiz at 8:32 AM on August 13, 2020 [1 favorite]
How to Help
Japan P&I Club, Japan's ship owners' mutual protection and indemnity association, says the cap on the payment for Wakashio is estimated to be about 17.7 million dollars.
Nautilus International has called for the government of Panama to step up as flag state and as Focus turns to damages owed by Japan ship owner for Mauritius spill.
"There are very few such marine areas with such rich biodiversity left on the planet".
Meanwhile today the leader of the opposition was prevented by the police from giving a press conference in his public office.
posted by adamvasco at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2020
Japan P&I Club, Japan's ship owners' mutual protection and indemnity association, says the cap on the payment for Wakashio is estimated to be about 17.7 million dollars.
Nautilus International has called for the government of Panama to step up as flag state and as Focus turns to damages owed by Japan ship owner for Mauritius spill.
"There are very few such marine areas with such rich biodiversity left on the planet".
Meanwhile today the leader of the opposition was prevented by the police from giving a press conference in his public office.
posted by adamvasco at 9:08 AM on August 13, 2020
This morning the v/l has broken in two and sludge is now entering the lagoon.
Even in my worst of nightmares, I would never have thought something like that could happen to us,” says Dr Vikash Tatayah, conservation director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF).
posted by adamvasco at 7:26 AM on August 15, 2020
Even in my worst of nightmares, I would never have thought something like that could happen to us,” says Dr Vikash Tatayah, conservation director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF).
posted by adamvasco at 7:26 AM on August 15, 2020
"they steered the boat closer to the coast...to get an internet connection. They were celebrating a birthday party"
PornHub's always an ice breaker.
posted by marvin at 6:45 PM on August 15, 2020
PornHub's always an ice breaker.
posted by marvin at 6:45 PM on August 15, 2020
The sinking of the front section of the Wakashio is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Reuters has published a good graphic as to the extent of the spill.
A 500% increase of Arsenic found in Mauritian Fish has been reported and an international ongoing coverup is feared.
Compensation levels as presently set by law are feared to be woefully short has highlighted the need for global adoption of international legislation that govern the seas and protect small island states and their vulnerable marine ecosystems against ship pollution.
As usual it seems that it will be local volunteers who do the most and who will therefore suffer the most.
posted by adamvasco at 8:29 AM on August 24, 2020
Reuters has published a good graphic as to the extent of the spill.
A 500% increase of Arsenic found in Mauritian Fish has been reported and an international ongoing coverup is feared.
Compensation levels as presently set by law are feared to be woefully short has highlighted the need for global adoption of international legislation that govern the seas and protect small island states and their vulnerable marine ecosystems against ship pollution.
As usual it seems that it will be local volunteers who do the most and who will therefore suffer the most.
posted by adamvasco at 8:29 AM on August 24, 2020
As interest in the Mauritius oil spill fades away..
27 dead dolphins have now been found near site of oil spill on the shores of Mauritius.
Everyone from the region says the strandings are linked. But the minister of fisheries, Sudheer Maudhoo, says they are not linked. Politicians serving their own ends since the dawn of time.
posted by adamvasco at 10:03 AM on August 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
27 dead dolphins have now been found near site of oil spill on the shores of Mauritius.
Everyone from the region says the strandings are linked. But the minister of fisheries, Sudheer Maudhoo, says they are not linked. Politicians serving their own ends since the dawn of time.
posted by adamvasco at 10:03 AM on August 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
For many years the common wisdom (based on scant evidence I might add) was that sea-going mammals were able to avoid the area contaminated by oil and so escape the worst of the effects.
However: Current evidence suggests that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a contributor to the largest and longest lasting dolphin die-off on record in the Gulf of Mexico.
posted by bonehead at 1:40 PM on August 27, 2020
However: Current evidence suggests that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a contributor to the largest and longest lasting dolphin die-off on record in the Gulf of Mexico.
posted by bonehead at 1:40 PM on August 27, 2020
The references are on the NOAA page there. First publication was in Environmental Science and Technology in 2014, IIRC. If you want to be picky, there was stuff presented at the GOMRI conferences earlier too, I think.
posted by bonehead at 10:05 AM on August 28, 2020
posted by bonehead at 10:05 AM on August 28, 2020
Thousands of people protested in the Mauritian capital of Port Louis on Saturday, calling for an investigation into an oil spill from a Japanese ship and the death of at least 40 dolphins found near the site.
posted by adamvasco at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by adamvasco at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
IMO FAIL – Forbes Drills Deep Into The Wakashio Salvage Efforts
According to a new report by Forbes, M/V Wakashio salvage and oil recovery efforts are failing on many fronts. These failures have resulted in deaths, environmental destruction, regulatory mission creep, gender imbalance, disregard for human health, and massive protests on the island of Mauritius and at embassies worldwide. And much of the blame lies with the International Maritime Organization, the maritime arm of the United Nation.
posted by adamvasco at 10:02 AM on September 10, 2020
According to a new report by Forbes, M/V Wakashio salvage and oil recovery efforts are failing on many fronts. These failures have resulted in deaths, environmental destruction, regulatory mission creep, gender imbalance, disregard for human health, and massive protests on the island of Mauritius and at embassies worldwide. And much of the blame lies with the International Maritime Organization, the maritime arm of the United Nation.
posted by adamvasco at 10:02 AM on September 10, 2020
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For scale, estimates are 1000 metric tonnes of oil, black ship fuel, in the water. There's an additional 2000 metric tonnes on board, at high risk for future release. Like I say, stabilizing this has to be a top priority to keep things from getting worse. Still, what's in the water now is enough to do major damage to the reefs in the area and to wipe out inshore fishing for one or two years depending. That's enough oil to cover 10s of km of shoreline/marine reef.
Black ship fuel oil isn't especially chemically toxic to marine life, but physical smothering is a major risk. There are major, major additional risks to birds if their feathers get oiled. HFO/IFO products are incredibly persistent though and generally eventually turn into something like asphalt over time. I've been to sites where we've been able to sample weathered fuel 40 or 50 years after the spill event. This will have a major effect on the local ecosystems even if clean up is perfect from now on.
For comparison, the Exxon Valdez was possibly as much as 120,000 metric tonnes, much much larger. The product was a medium-light crude and much more toxic than black ship fuels are generally. Again, in Alaska on some of the armoured beaches (ie under stone cover) oil has persisted to the present day. Temperature is a controlling factor in persistence and fate of the oil. The Arctic being much slower to recover than the tropics.
posted by bonehead at 9:16 AM on August 11, 2020 [19 favorites]