By Vel Moonien in Mauritius –
The Tresta Star, a tanker from the island of Mauritius, has run aground off the eastern coast of Reunion Island, a French Department in the Indian Ocean neighboring Mauritius.
Due to Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, the vessel had set course south of the island, but suffered engine trouble and drifted towards Reunion Island. It is currently aground off Saint-Philippe, at the Tremblet, which is at the foot of the Piton de La Fournaise’s volcano. Eleven crew members are on board, comprised of seven Indians and four Bangladeshis.
Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, a powerful Category 4 cyclone with winds gusting up 130 mph, passed to the north of Reunion Island and Mauritius on Thursday.
The French Minister for Overseas Territories, Sebastien Lecornu, who visited Mauritius when the MV Wakashio ran aground, wrote on Twitter earlier that there is a strong risk that the TrestaStar will suffer the same fate. “The Mauritian ship #TrestaStar is in difficulty and risks running aground in the next few hours off Reunion. I am carefully following the situation with the @Prefet974 . Our efforts are currently focused on rescuing the crew.,” he wrote in his post.
“An attempt to tow the vessel to avoid it running aground around the Tremblet, in Saint-Philippe will be undertaken. The towing and salvage operations of the ship have begun,” he added.
These effort will be conducted by the Regional Surveillance and Rescue Operational Center of Reunion Island and the French Navy. However, the operations won’t be that easy due to a heavy weather caused by Batsirai.
Lecornu added that the tanker is empty. “At this stage, there is no risk of serious marine oil pollution,” he added.
Port-Louis says it its monitoring the situation too. Le Quotidien de La Réunion, the number one paper on the island, reports that the Tresta Star, which is 74 meters long and 16 meters wide, has already run aground. The grounding is also confirmed by satellite images and AIS.
The smell of diesel oil has been reported in the area, according to a local resident.
Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update
Essential maritime and offshore news, insights, and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox
The U.S. Coast Guard is waiting for additional forces to arrive before potentially attempting to board and seize a Venezuela-linked oil tanker it has been pursuing since Sunday, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
After nearly two years of disruption, ships from two of the world’s biggest container lines are once again sailing through the Suez Canal—a small but meaningful step toward restoring one of...
Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has started filling up tankers with crude and fuel oil it has in storage as inventories mount amid moves by the U.S. to seize Venezuela-linked ships, according to company documents and shipping data.
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
