Mauritius oil spill: Dolphins dead after MV Wakashio scuttled

The small island nation is already suffering its worst environmental disaster, but locals have woken to something out of a nightmare.

A satellite image shows tugboats working to clear the MV Wakashio. Picture: Maxar Technologies/AFP

More than a dozen dead dolphins have washed up on the beach in Mauritius after a ship ran aground last month, spilling more than 1000 tonnes of oil into the water.

Volunteers have spent the past few weeks cleaning up, fishing out dead eels, crabs and fish since the Japanese ship MV Wakashio ran aground on July 25, before its hull cracked on August 6 and it began leaking fuel.

The forward section of the ship eventually broke away, before being towed out to sea and scuttled on August 24.

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The ship broke in two before the front section was towed out to sea and sunk. Picture: AFP

The front section has been sunk to a depth of more than 3km. Picture: Mauritius Police Press Office/AFP

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But on Wednesday Mauritius locals woke up to something “worse than a nightmare”.

“So many dead dolphins on our seashore … I have seen around eight to 10 dead dolphins,” local Nitin Jeeha told BBC.

A boy touches a dolphin carcass. Picture: Beekash Roopun/L'Express Maurice/AFP

Men recover the carcasses of dolphins that washed up on the beach. Picture: Beekash Roopun/L'Express Maurice/AFP

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Other dolphins were reportedly found weak and lifeless.

But according to local government officials, the oil spill appears to have nothing to do with it.

The Fisheries Minister Sudheer Maudhoo said the deaths seem unconnected “at first glance”, noting that at least two of the dolphins appeared to have been bitten by sharks.

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Local government officials weren’t ready to say the dolphins died because of the ship that broke in half and began leaking oil into their habitat. Picture: AFP

Former Mauritian MP turned Greenpeace executive Sunil Dowarkasing said the grounded tanker definitely played a role.

“Either they died from tons of fuel spilt in the sea, or they were poisoned by the toxic materials on the bow of the ship that was sunk offshore,” Mr Dowarkasing told the Associated Press.

He said the oil spill and the sinking of the tanker was “ruining what had been the best-preserved area” of Mauritius.

A post-mortem is being conducted on the dolphins.

Local media quoted an oceanographer who said the dolphins smelled of fuel.

More dolphins have reportedly died out at sea.