URGENT efforts increased on Mauritius today to empty a stranded Japanese ship of an estimated 2,500 tons of oil before the vessel breaks up and increases the contamination of the island’s coastline.

Already more than 1,000 tons of the fuel has washed up on the eastern coast of Mauritius, polluting coral reefs, protected lagoons and shoreline.

High winds and waves are pounding the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which ran aground on a coral reef two weeks ago and is showing signs of breaking up and dumping its remaining cargo of oil into the Indian Ocean.

“We are expecting the worst,” said Jean Hugues Gardenne of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. “The ship is showing really big, big cracks. We believe it will break into two at any time, at the maximum within two days. 

“So much oil remains in the ship, so the disaster could become much worse. It’s important to remove as much oil as possible. Helicopters are taking out the fuel little by little, ton by ton.”