Oil Spill In Mauritius Turns Crystal Clear Indian Ocean Black

(Photos) by Macsjebs ( m): 9:50am

Thousands of volunteers in Mauritius are racing to contain

a catastrophic oil spill swamping its pristine ocean and

beaches on Sunday.

The bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground two weeks ago

and has been seeping fuel into a protected marine park

boasting unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove forests and

endangered species, prompting the government to declare

an unprecedented environmental emergency.

Attempts to stabilise the stricken vessel, which ran aground

on July 25 but only started leaking oil this week, and pump

4,000 tonnes of fuel from its hold have failed, and local

authorities fear rough seas could further rupture the tanker.

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, joining France which dispatched a naval vessel

and military aircraft from nearby Reunion Island after

Mauritius issued an appeal for international help.

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Thousands of volunteers, many smeared head-to-toe in

black sludge, are marshalling 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, said Sunday that 1,000 tonnes

of fuel oil had escaped so far.

'We are terribly sorry,' the shipping firm's vice president,

Akihiko Ono, told reporters in Tokyo, promising to 'make all-

out efforts to resolve the case'.

But conservationists say the damage could already be

done.

Aerial images show the enormous scale of the disaster,

with huge stretches of azure seas around the marooned

cargo ship stained a deep inky black, and the region's fabled

lagoons and inlets clouded over.

Thick muck has inundated unspoiled marine habitats and

white-sand beaches, causing what experts say is irreparable

damage to the fragile coastal ecosystem upon which

Mauritius and its economy relies.

Pressure is mounting on the government to explain why

more wasn't 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.'

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Police said Sunday they would execute a search warrant

granted by a Mauritius court to board the Wakashio and

seize items of interest, including the ship's log book and

communication as part of its investigation into the accident.

The ship's captain, a 58-year-old Indian, will accompany

officers on the search, police said. Twenty crew members

evacuated safely from the Japanese-owned but

Panamanian-flagged ship when it ran aground are under

surveillance.

Prime Minister Jugnauth has convened a crisis meeting

later Sunday, after expressing concern that forecast bad

weather could further complicate efforts to stymie the spill,

and cause more structural damage to the hull.

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.'

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.

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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

 

Nigeria is m seeaking frantic efforts to stop Enron Nigeria Power Holding (ENPH) from enforcing a $22 million arbitration award that could risk the country’s assets in the US, The Cable can report.

 

ENPH, an incorporation of the defunct Enron International, is seeking a turnover of Nigeria’s claim to proceeds from an $80 million mega yacht that was sold in the US.

In 2019, a US federal court had given Nigeria approval to sell the yacht, named “Galactica Star”, as part of an ongoing corruption case against Kola Aluko, Nigerian businessman who allegedly acquired it with diverted profits from oil sales  in Nigeria.

 

The yacht has been sold for $37 million and ENPH is trying to lay claim to part of the proceeds in enforcing its $22 million arbitration award.

 

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, is now seeking approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to negotiate the award to protect the country’s assets, TheCable can report.  Hetold the  president that ENPH could further target the country’s assets in California, New York and other states in America.

 

On December 6, 1999, ENPH had entered a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Lagos state government, guaranteed by the federal government through the now- defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), later named Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). ENPH was to build, arrange, finance and run electricity generating plants and natural gas pipelines in Lagos state. NEPA suspended the PPA on December 15, 1999 for renegotiation.

However, construction continued on the different phases of

the porject. By September 30, 2000, phases one and three of the contract were completed while negotiation for phase two of the construction failed.

At the time, Enron International had gone bankrupt, but it wrote to the federal government that this would not affect ENPH, the Nigeria arm, in carrying out its own part under the contract.

After several failed attempts at negotiating, ENPH commenced an arbitration against Nigeria on June 13, 2006  att international chambers of commerce court of arbitration in London, accusing the government of breach of contractual agreement.

Six years later, on November 12, 2012, a final award (“Quantum”) was given against Nigeria in the sum of $11.22 million, with 2 per cent interest from June 13, 2006, and also expenses for legal services.

Attempts by the Nigerian government to negotiate the settlement failed.

On July 19, 2013, ENPH, under the convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards which Nigeria is also a signatory, approached the US court in the southern district of Texas to seek enforcement of the. award

The court granted ENPH the motion for confirmation of the award on October 16, 2015, prompting Nigeria government to appeal the judgement at the US district of Columbia circuit.

ENPH had also argued that Nigeria, following the contract, had waived its rights to challenge the award. Nigeria’s appeal was subsequently dismissed, and the court affirmed the order to confirm the award.

In an interesting approach, ENPH also sought from the court a writ of garnishment to be issued against the JP Morgan Chase Bank on the ground that it has in its possession commercial assets belonging to Nigeria which could be garnished in satisfaction of the judgement in favour of ENPH.

The company’s prayer was, however, denied. And in a fresh move on March 9, 2020, ENPH filed an amended application and this time asking the court for the turnover on the Galactica Star Nigerian assets.

The US department of justice (DoJ) and counsel to the Nigerian government again challenged the application, and on May 21, 2020, the court denied ENPH’s request. ENPH, however, secured another order on July 15, 2020 to  filean appeal.

In a letter dated July 28, 2020, Malami sought Buhari’s approval to negotiate the arbitration award against Nigeria in the failed power project.

Without a settlement, the AGF said, ENPH will continue to cause problems for Nigeria with different litigation which may put the Galactica case at risk.

“Without conceding, should ENPH succeed in attaching the USA v Galactica funds by deducting $22 million all that will be left for FGN will be about $5.4 million which may be less after deduction of the 3% success fee accruable to BCR,” Malami wrote in a letter seen by TheCable.

“The resultant implication would mean FGN will lose an asset it is rightfully entitled to, loss of revenue to FGN, loss of revenue as regards the huge litigation cost that has been paid to FGN counsel (disbursement and retainership fees) etc.

“In other to avoid unwarranted delay and ENPH further intervention,, it has been advised that is is in FRN’s interest to deal expeditiously with the intrusion of an unrelated issue (ENPH issue) in the repatriation of funds in the ongoing USA v Galactica case.”

Malami said without a settlement, ENPH will definitely hold up the earlier repatriation of the Galactica funds for a year or more.

The AGF asked the president to approve for Berliner Corcoran & Rowe (BCR), Nigeria’s counsel, in collaboration with the ministry of justice designated officers to proceed to engage in negotiation and settlement meeting with ENPH.

He argued that a negotiation may halt ENPH’s consideration of further action. He also added that it may reduce the present amount being claimed by the company.

Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the president, in another letter dated August 13, 2020, directed Saleh Mamman, minister of power, and Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance,  to review the matter and revert with “considered views to inform Mr President’s further directives”.

The development comes at a time government is also trying to get an upturn over the $9.6 billion awarded P&ID Ltd, an Irish firm, in arbitration against Nigeria.