Leaking Turkish shipwreck sparks ecological emergency in Madagascar

Sep 1, 2009, 8:58 GMT

Antananarivo - An ecological disaster looms off the southern tip of the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar as a shipwrecked Turkish freighter leaked fuel, waste water and phosphates into the sea, local media reported Tuesday.

The 189-metre-long, 30-metre-wide MS Gulser Ana, which was bound for India with a cargo of 39,000 tonnes of phosphates, sank three kilometres off the coast at Faux Cap on August 26.

The cause of the incident was unclear. Rescue workers, who took the 23-person crew - 21 Turks and two Indonesians - to safety reported seeing black smoke coming from the ship. The ship's owners have yet to make a statement.

On Tuesday, L'Express de Madagascar newspaper reported that the ship had tipped a portion of the phosphates as well as 383 cubic metres of fuel and 7,000 litres of water containing fecal matter and oil into the sea.

Witnesses told the newspaper the beach at Faux Cap has been contaminated. 'The beach has become blackened over the past few days. And little fish are washing up dead,' one eyewitness said.

On Monday, the government announced the suspension of fishing in the area, the region's mainstay.

The pollution also threatens Cap Sainte Marie park, a protected reserve at the southernmost tip of the island, which is home to rare species of tortoise and, from August to November, migrating humpback whales.

Environmentalists are concerned the spilt fuel could damage the area's bountiful coral reefs and expressed concerns for the impact on tourism.

A member of Madagascar's Green Party, Laurent Ampilahy, said that while the phosphates themselves did not present any health risks their abundance could cause an explosive growth in algae that would threaten the area's fragile ecosystem.

A ministerial task team has been set up to address the crisis and a team of experts deployed to the area to assess to damage and kickstart a clean-up. Madagascar has also enlisted the aid of nine foreign experts in marine pollution in the clean-up.

The seas around Madagascar's often fall prey to shipwrecks but this is the first time the impoverished island of around 20 million that is famous for its abundance of rare species of flora and fauna has suffered a major fuel spillage.