Bulker Brawl Ends With Bunker Spill After Vessel Runs Aground off Mauritius

MV Benita's grounding is said to have resulted from a fight that broke out in the engine room between two individuals.

A bunker spill occurred Friday off southeast Mauritius after bizarre circumstances lead to a vessel grounding.

Although there are conflicting reports over the exact details, it would appear that a fight broke out aboard the 44,183 DWT bulker MV Benita Thursday night, possibly started by the Chief Engineer, with some reports going as far as suggesting a mutiny was being staged.

At some point the Chief Engineer locked himself in the engine room before cutting the power supply to the vessel.

The vessel then drifted until it ran aground along the coast of Le Bouchon.

An undetermined amount of product was spilled as a result, and at least one local source indicated she was carrying around 145 metric tonnes (mt) of fuel oil and 30 mt of diesel at the time of the incident.

On Saturday, pictures on social media surfaced, said to show oil spillage near Le Bouchon related to the vessel's grounding.

Shortly after, a representative of the National Coast Guard is said to have stated that the situation was under control with no HFO escaping from the ship, noting that the oil shown on area shorelines following the grounding were a result of sea water that had mixed with some oil within the vessel's hold.

Reports say the Chief Engineer has since been arrested, while a crew member said to have been seriously injured in the brawl was transported to hospital for treatment.

The Liberian-flagged vessel was reported to have had 23 crew on board at the time of the incident, and is noted to have been underway from Paradip, India to Durban, South Africa.