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Why the Mauritius oil spill is so serious
- sasaf5 6y ago>The ship, MV Wakashio, ran aground at Pointe d'Esny in late July, and oil began leaking from it last Thursday. >Fuel has been transferred to shore by helicopter and to another ship owned by the same Japanese firm, Nagashiki Shipping. So they had more than a week to prevent this.
- qserasera 6y agoI'm not liking the timeline either. News agencies are really dropping the ball on this one.
- nn3 6y agoSeems like a weird argument. So oil spills in unprotected areas are less serious because nature there is already impacted in other ways? Won't make any difference to the animals and plants in the end.
- jand 6y ago> So oil spills in unprotected areas are less serious because I do not think this is the point the author tried to make. I read this more like "despite the minor amount of oil spilled compared to other spills, this one will hurt like a big one".
- teh_klev 6y agoI think you've misinterpreted the article, and that's not what is being said: > Although previous oil spills around the world have not been in as environmentally sensitive areas, [my emphasis] they have still significantly affected marine animals and plants. > In 2010, the Deep Water Horizon incident off the Gulf of Mexico saw nearly 400,000 tonnes of oil spill, resulting in the death of thousands of species ranging from plankton to dolphins. > There were also other longer-term impacts on marine life including impaired reproduction, reduced growth, lesions and disease. The article doesn't advocate that oil spills in unprotected areas are less serious, it actually highlights the fact that there are terrible consequences for wildlife regardless of whether the spill site is "protected" or not.
- hnzix 6y agoThere doesn't seem to be details about the cause of the collision as yet. However for a candid look at the grim reality of the maritime industry, and how these kinds of disasters are far too common, I highly recommend The Outlaw Ocean by Ian Urbina. The human trafficking elements are particularly disturbing.
- kfarr 6y agoAlso Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow
- sradman 6y agoThe port explosion in Beirut would make a perfect new chapter in Normal Accidents. I’m guessing the cause of the MV Wakashio accident will turn out to be a simple failure rather than a complex and unexpected failure mode (Perrow’s “normal”).
- dredmorbius 6y agoEconomist Tim Harford has been running a small and occasional podcast series, Cautionary Tales. It opened with an episode discussing Perrow, produced immediately before, and releasing just after, Perrow's death last November. He's looked at risk, may be thinking of technical debt, and I've suggested Beruit. Recommended.
- sradman 6y agoThanks :-) Cautionary Tales Ep 3 – LaLa Land: Galileo’s Warning [1] has the following in the shownotes: > Charles Perrow’s Normal Accidents introduces the idea of complex, tightly-coupled systems and has good accounts both of the Three Mile Island and the Fermi reactor accidents. Just after we’d recorded the episode, I heard the sad news that Charles had died on November 12th. He’ll be missed. [1] https://timharford.com/2019/11/cautionary-tales-ep-3-lala-land-galileos-warning/ https://timharford.com/2019/11/cautionary-tales-ep-3-lala-la...
- ornornor 6y ago
- caterama 6y agoWhy are these ships allowed to go anywhere near reefs?
- grugagag 6y agoI think this is probably to cut distances and save on fuel and time. The reefs' safety is completely disregarded it seems. But we should know that already, these companies don't care much about the environment, they only do when they have to make large payouts to fix the damages.
- wila 6y agoPaying huge sums of damages might make companies more careful and instruct their crews better. Instead of that we seem to be getting the more common "We're sorry" mantra.
- mncharity 6y agoShips are in the vicinity of Mauritius because "Mauritius and the nearby island of Reunion lie on the shortest straight-line route between the Strait of Malacca, which links the ports of Asia to the Indian Ocean, and the southern tip of Africa." Mauritius seems not to have "put in place a safety zone". These seem at least part of the picture. https://gcaptain.com/heres-why-so-much-world-trade-passes-mauritius/ https://gcaptain.com/heres-why-so-much-world-trade-passes-ma...
- darkerside 6y agoNot to minimize it, but you seem to be only thinking about this one instance of a sunk tanker, and not the thousands and thousands of ships that do this on a regular basis with no problem. These low probability risks, and countless others like them, are part of a tapestry of a probabilistic horror show that supports our everyday way of life.
- ComputerGuru 6y agoWe are you assuming he/she is thinking in that manner? Some things you cannot put a price tag on. Getting oil cheaply from point a to point b is nice, but if all it takes is one major and uncontained spill to forever kill one of the few remaining large coral reefs...
- js2 6y agoDrone footage of the ship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN3SyPM9m2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN3SyPM9m2U Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wakashio_oil_spill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Wakashio_oil_spill
- totetsu 6y agoWatching some of his other videos, it seems like the boat sat on the rocks for a while before leaking oil. There was a chance to have stopped this.
- js2 6y agoRough seas, and Mauritius doesn't have the resources. The rest of the world is distracted by Covid19. It also seems like the country only requested help from France a few days ago. Yes, it's sad. I'm not clear why the ship was anywhere near the reef.
- discordance 6y agoThe tfa says they used a helicopter to remove the remaining 3000 T or so of pull left on the ship. So they had the resources, just not the motivation at the time the ship wasn’t spilling.
- js2 6y agoThis later video seems to indicate they don’t have much in the way of resources. I see guys in small fishing boats and a single helicopter dropping two drums at a time. https://youtu.be/CKICk5LY2xg https://youtu.be/CKICk5LY2xg
- TylerE 6y agoNo they didn't. You're not visualizing how much 3,000 tonnes is. The classic drum of oil is 42 gallons and weighs 300lbs - just the oil - the actual drum itself is another 40 or so. 3,000T = 20,000 barrels. Of course, the oil in the ship isn't barreled, it's in giant compartments. This ship wasn't even a oil tanker...this is the actual fuel tanks of the ship itself leaking.
- neetrain 6y agoJets usually avoid flying low over cities in case of crash. Can't oil tankers do something similar?
- bryanrasmussen 6y agoSure, but in this case the crew headed closer in to the coast to get better wifi reception - they were celebrating a birthday party. I guess the jet analogy would be jet pilot flies really low so his kids can see him wave from their window. on edit: my only source for this birthday claim is a tweet https://twitter.com/Ariel_Saramandi/status/1293154521892270080 https://twitter.com/Ariel_Saramandi/status/12931545218922700... but I believe it as I am by nature a misanthrope.
- totetsu 6y agoWith so many seafarers not being let on shore(and not having wifi on board), not being relieved, and working months past the end of their contracts, it's only a matter of time before there are more accidents.
- ComputerGuru 6y agoUntil evidence points otherwise, this is just another spill in a long series of marine ecology disasters and blame should not be allowed to be placed on the coronavirus situation.
- ornornor 6y agoI don’t think it has to do with the current epidemic.
- narrator 6y agoWasn't the Beirut disaster linked to a situation about seafarers basically stuck on the ship and the boat had a leak in it and just all kinds of stuff going wrong? People on boats are treated horribly.
- bryanrasmussen 6y agoI posted a related article a few days ago https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritius-grapples-with-worst-environmental-crisis-in-a-generation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/mauritius-grapples-with-wo...
- fomine3 6y agoSome news said that the tanker got closed to island to connect Wi-Fi. OMG. https://www.lexpress.mu/article/381284/membres-dequipage-confirment-celebration-dun-anniversaire-bord-vraquier https://www.lexpress.mu/article/381284/membres-dequipage-con... https://www.news24.jp/articles/2020/08/14/10699738.html https://www.news24.jp/articles/2020/08/14/10699738.html
- worldsayshi 6y agoThere should be serious jail time for the owner or captain of the ship if it's caused by the slightest neglect.
- hetspookjee 6y agoSounds like a similar case as the Costa Concordia than.
- paublyrne 6y agoI can't view the Japanese link but the French article mentions nothing about connecting to the internet, or "WI-FI". Wouldn't a ship have satellite internet?
- sumedh 6y agoGood satellite internet is very expensive, the oil tanker probably had a cheap slow plan.
- antihero 6y agoThe Mauritian article says: "Before the "Wakashio" ran aground on the reef at Pointe-d'Esny on the evening of July 25, the crew was celebrating the birthday of one of its members. This was reported by three crew members of the bulk carrier to Central Criminal Investigation Department (CCID) investigators. They also stated that the bulk carrier had approached the island to pick up a wi-fi connection. Seven others made the same statement to investigators from Mauritius Shipping. These seamen initially made a history of their voyage which started in China to Australia and then another route from China, with a stopover in Singapore, before heading for Brazil. It was on this route that the bulk carrier crossed the territorial waters of Mauritius. The crew of about 20 consists of three Indian nationals, sixteen Filipinos and one Sri Lankan. The "Wakashio" was under the responsibility of Captain Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, a 58-year-old Indian national. They are represented by Mr. Kushal Lobine and Mr. Irsaad Munsoor, lawyers for the insurers of the Protection and Indemnity Club."
- LockAndLol 6y agoSince it's not happening in our backyard, I doubt the majority will care. We'll keep buying our precious cars, voting against green and nuclear, and continue our way of life unabated. C'est la vie.
- agumonkey 6y agoI wonder how much of globalism exists only because of distance-care relationship
- jordanbeiber 6y agoTangential but something that have been buging me for a while - these type events are not enough brought in to the equation when EVs are compared to ICEs. I usually get comparisons to the refined gas/diesel with the whole process of the battery. Not saying batteries are great for the environment, but we have had so many leaks during the years. Deep horizon is still leaking and where almost at 1.000.000 m3 if I recall correctly. At least with batteries the pollution is kept more localized, which I believe is to be preferred.
- kortilla 6y agoOil extraction issues comes up all of the time in the discussion of fossil fuels vs electric.
- jordanbeiber 6y agoMaybe not enough or frequent on a higher level such as in regular/mainstream news then. Being an early owner of EVs I’ve had to explain my rationale many times to people, where oil spills is one part obviously.
- theshrike79 6y agoThe Anti-EV crowd tends to include everything starting from the diet of the mine workers digging up the metals needed from the batteries into the emissions of the EV. They tend not to include the environmental effects of oil drilling and transportation into the figures for ICE cars. Double standards and all that.
- blueblisters 6y agoSomewhat related: this startup is supplying graphene based absorbent pads called Sorbene to help clean up some of the mess: https://www.sorbene.com/ https://www.sorbene.com/
- obayesshelton 6y agoWill anyone get fined and will the processed from the fine go to help the local area?
- doublerabbit 6y agoOf course. not. They're throw some cleanup stuff at it, claim it's better and within a week will all be forgotten.
- qayxc 6y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HTd4Um1m4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HTd4Um1m4
- mjberg01 6y agoWhat are the financial penalties for this? Cost of damages most interesting angle and not mentioned in article. Company and leadership on boat should be held liable to the greatest extent possible. Set an example to curtail this sort of reckless behavior.
- me_me_me 6y agoCompany will blame it on the captain, and that will be the end of it. Sadly this is our reality.
- qayxc 6y agoMaritime law has been super weak historically. There are basically no repercussions at all unless people get hurt. Even if the company itself gets fined, they'll simply declare bankruptcy, close up shop and sell their assets to a new company (often incidentally run by the same people). Sad how relevant this still is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HTd4Um1m4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HTd4Um1m4
- sebazzz 6y agoI would propose that companies which can have such major consequences on the environment must put a sum of money in some kind of Escrow, and it gets released for purposes of cleaning up the mess.
- 0xdeadb00f 6y agoOil spills may not statistically happen that often, but they happen way too often. There has to be a way to prevent this from happening ever again.
- Gibbon1 6y agoEasy, stop using oil.
- samvher 6y agoSimple maybe, but not easy.
- altacc 6y agoNot so easy. Powering large ships for the ranges needed for global trade without using fuel oil is currently an unsolved problem. There's a small EV cargo boat with a range of only 50 miles. Battery density and ship efficiency needs to be greatly improved before we can replace the engines and fuel tanks in cargo ships. (For clarification, the oil spill in Mauritius is the fuel oil from a bulk carrier, not an oil tanker.)
- samvher 6y agoAnd similar issues for powering air traffic, agricultural machinery, industrial applications requiring intense heat (metals and cement).
- BlueTemplar 6y agoSails ?
- altacc 6y agoThere are various concepts for wind propulsion but even the most optimistic think they’ll only provide some of the energy needed. Some kind of EV/wind hybrid might be the answer but battery size is still a major issue.
- codeisawesome 6y agoThey couldn’t get the CEO to make a statement? A 2 minute rail delay gets an immediate apology from the CEO in Japanese companies - I guess destroying another country’s beauty and livelihood doesn’t warrant that.
- sradman 6y agoI rewatched the Drone footage [1] js2 linked to and I think I made the same logical error that the captain/crew did; I mistook the breakwater as the edge of the reef and missed the slightly deeper ridge that juts out perpendicular to the island/lagoon. The "coral ridge" that they hit is obvious in the many photos that are shown in an image search results on "aerial photo MV-Wakashio". I was surprised by the drone footage since it looks like the ship was perpendicular to the reef edge which means that the ship was heading directly at the large/populated island at near full speed but this was not the case. They were probably running parallel to the breakwater and hit this hidden anomaly in the reef and then wave action trapped the ship in this literal corner. Without tugs I don't think the ship could back out even if undamaged so I guess one outstanding question is whether a timely deployment of tug boats could have prevented the break-up of the ship. The accident occurred at 8pm local time (16:00 UTC +4) so it was dark but the crew would have been awake. Tragic overconfidence. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN3SyPM9m2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN3SyPM9m2U
- solutron 6y agoIt's past time to move off fossil fuels. Join the EV revolution and let's use the technology and engineering of the past to carry us to a future where we can look back at the ancient relics of Industrialization V1 and wonder how we were so primitive.