Wakashio oil spill (2020)
A bulk carrier that ran aground on a Mauritian reef in 2020, whose bunker fuel polluted a protected lagoon and fell under the Bunkers Convention.
The Wakashio was not carrying oil: it was sailing in ballast, and the pollution came from its own fuel. The case therefore falls not under the tanker convention but under the 2001 Bunkers Convention, which makes the owner liable and requires it to carry insurance, within the general limits of maritime liability. The ship ran aground after deviating from its route to approach the coast, and the Mauritian inquiry blamed the crew's navigation. The case also raised the position of the time charterer, which did not own the ship but whose name was associated with it, and which made voluntary contributions to local support funds. For insurance, it is a reminder that bunker pollution from non-tankers is common and can hit ecological areas of very high value.
On July 25, 2020, the Wakashio ran aground on the Pointe d'Esny reef, in southeastern Mauritius; about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil spilled from August 6, and the hull broke in two on August 15.
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