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On July 25, 2020, the bulk carrier ship MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef offshore of Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius. Over the following weeks the ship began to leak fuel oil and as of August 10, an estimated 1,000 metric tons of oil had spilled into the waters. A huge clean-up operation has been launched from the shore with many local people volunteering to help. Mauritius is a biodiversity hotspot with a high concentration of plants and animals unique to the region. It is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles. The coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritius waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity.

When crises like this occur, Maxar is committed to supporting the humanitarian community by providing critical and actionable information to assist response efforts and fulfilling our purpose, For a Better World. As part of our Open Data Program, Maxar will publicly release data of the affected areas to support response efforts as it becomes available.

Any imagery or data distributed through the Open Data Program is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license (CC BY-NC 4.0). This licensing allows for non-commercial use of the information, meaning it can quickly be integrated into first responder workflows with organizations like Team Rubicon, the Red Cross and other nonprofits. If commercial companies are interested in using the data distributed through the Open Data Program, it can be purchased by contacting us here.

Imagery has been posted on our Open Data Program website. Please continue to check this site and our social media channels for updates on additional post-event data.

WorldView-2 image from August 12, 2020 of the MV Wakashio that ran aground near Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius.

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