Challenges in dealing with oil spill in the Indian Ocean: Case study of Mauritius waters

The oil spill remains a challenge in the current maritime security context. Such a case might occur due to natural disasters, human errors, and damaged engine systems. Mauritius is one of the archipelagic countries in the Indian Ocean that suffered from oil spills in its territorial waters. Although this country has developed large-scale projects related to maritime security cooperation and capacity building, it faces various challenges in handling the oil spill of MV Wakashio in August 2020. This article discusses the challenges an island country must face in handling oil spills from the maritime security perspective. This study uses a qualitative methodology and the oil spill in Mauritius water as a case study. The authors found that in dealing with the oil spill case, the Mauritius government needs more than a contingency plan, maritime capacity building, and rapid coordination at the national and regional levels. Regional and global communities’ support in the form of sufficient financial and technical aids, sophisticated tools, and competent human resources is essential to assist Mauritius in handling the spill and its environmental impact. Therefore, Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) should also play a more significant role in such a situation.