MV Wakashio oil spill

MV Wakashio oil spill
Location	Offshore of Pointe d'Esny, south of Mauritius
Coordinates	20°26′17.23″S 57°44′40.67″E / 20.4381194°S 57.7446306°E / -20.4381194; 57.7446306
Date	25 July 2020 (25 July 2020)
Cause
Cause	Grounding of MV Wakashio
Operator	Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Spill characteristics
Volume	1,000 metric tons fuel oil
Area	27 km2 (10 sq mi)

The MV Wakashio oil spill occurred after the Japanese-controlled bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July 2020 at around 16:00 UTC. The ship began to leak fuel oil in the following weeks, and broke apart in mid August. Although much of the oil on board Wakashio was pumped out before she broke in half, an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the ocean in what was called by some scientists the worst environmental disaster ever in Mauritius. Two weeks after the incident, the Mauritian government declared the incident a national emergency.^[1]