当时时间7月25日,一艘名为“若潮”号的日本货船在毛里求斯东南部海域搁浅,8月6日,货船船体破裂,大量燃油泄漏并导致毛里求斯近海遭到严重污染。
An oil spill off the coast of the East African country of Mauritius is likely to leave a devastating impact on the surrounding ecosystems, despite being one of the smaller spills in history.
尽管是历史上规模较小的石油泄漏事件之一,但东非国家毛里求斯海岸附近的石油泄漏可能会对周围的生态系统造成毁灭性的影响。
The Japanese-owned MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on July 25 and a week later began leaking over 1,000 tonnes of oil into a protected marine park boasting mangrove forests and endangered species.
7月25日,这艘日本货船搁浅触礁,一周后开始泄露超过1000吨燃油,污染了当地重要湿地红树林沼泽保护区,危及多个物种。
Mauritius declared an unprecedented environmental emergency last week.
毛里求斯上周宣布进入环境紧急状态。
毛里求斯是非洲东部一个火山岛国,位于印度洋西南方,四周被五彩斑斓的珊瑚礁环绕,是一个广受欢迎的度假胜地,被称为“天堂原乡”,有各种珍稀动物和多种独有鸟类。
然而突如其来的燃油泄漏事故,不仅对当地旅游业造成严重冲击,还将对毛里求斯的海洋环境和渔场造成无法估量的生态破坏。
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said Mauritius will seek compensation for the extensive environmental damage from the Wakashio"s owner, Nagashiki Shipping. He has declared the oil spill a national disaster.
总理贾格纳特称,毛里求斯将“若潮”号船主三井船运公司寻求对大面积环境破坏的赔偿。他已经宣布这次石油泄漏是一场全国性的灾难。
The Reuters news agency reported Thursday that officials with Nagashiki had said the company "felt its responsibility acutely" and that it intended to take steps towards assessing compensation for the disaster, but there was no indication how long that assessment process could take.
路透社周四报道称,三井株式会社负责人说,他们“深感歉意”,并表示打算采取措施评估灾难赔偿,但没有迹象表明评估过程可能需要多长时间。
Jugnauth"s government is under pressure to explain why it did not take immediate action to empty the ship when it ran aground on July 25. Two weeks later, after pounding by waves, the ship cracked and began leaking.
贾格纳特政府也面临压力,民众要求其解释为何在该船7月25日搁浅时没有立即采取行动清空该船,导致两周后,在海浪的冲击下,货船破裂并开始泄露。
The wildlife foundation is alarmed that the oil spill will ruin the work that it has done since 1985 to restore that area, Gardenne said.
野生动植物基金会警告称,燃油泄漏将使他们自1985年以来为恢复该地区所做的努力付诸东流。
"We have planted about 200,000 indigenous trees to restore the coastal forest," he told The Associated Press. "We re-introduced endangered birds, including the pink pigeon, the olive white-eye and the critically endangered Mauritius fody to the Isle aux Aigrettes. Now all this is threatened as the oil is seeping into the soil and the coral reefs."
“我们已经种植了大约20万棵本地树木来恢复沿海森林,”他告诉美联社。“我们重新引入了一些濒危鸟类,包括粉红鸽、橄榄绣眼鸟和极度濒危的毛里福迪雀。现在,随着燃油渗入土壤和珊瑚礁,这一切都受到了威胁。”
3名“若潮”号船员告诉毛里求斯中央刑事调查部,当地时间7月25日晚,在“若潮”号触礁搁浅前,船长并不在驾驶舱,而是和其他人一起庆祝一名船员的生日,当晚驾驶模式设置的是自动。
毛调查人员初步推测,可能是船长在设定自动驾驶模式时输错了导航信息。中央刑事调查部已获取航海日志等重要文件,将请毛海岸警卫队进一步分析。
毛里求斯当地媒体13日称,货船驶近陆地并搁浅的原因,有可能是船员为了连接无线网络(WIFI)。
Greenpeace Africa has warned that “thousands” of animal species were “at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius’ economy, food security and health”.
非洲绿色和平组织警告称,“成千上万”动物物种“面临着被淹没在污染海洋中的危险,这将给毛里求斯的经济、粮食安全和健康带来可怕的后果”。
An oceanographer and environmental engineer in Mauritius, Vassen Kauppaymuthoo, told the BBC that local residents were now “breathing heavy vapours of oil”, and there was a “mixture of sadness and anger” over the spill.
毛里求斯的海洋学家和环境工程师Vassen Kauppaymuthoo告诉BBC,当地居民现在“吸入了大量的石油蒸汽”,对泄漏事件感到“悲伤和愤怒”。
综合来源:CBS,雅虎新闻,央视新闻等
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