The oil spill that occurred in Mauritius this week is an environmental tragedy. Having been to the island a number of times. I was shocked to see the pictures of these stunning waters destroyed by 1.000 tonnes of oil.

Based on a detailed reconstruction of the unfolding of the disaster and our work on capacity building, I wrote a number of short comments. I also gave a range of interviews to international and regional news outlets, including with BBC Radio, Reuters and Deutsche Welle TV.

In an article in The Diplomat I argue that in particular governments in small states need to see oil spills as national priorities. They need to undertake reviews of the national response plans in the light of the disaster. Read the article The Mauritius Disaster: Overlooked Dimensions of Maritime Security, published on August, 12th.

The Mauritius Times printed an interview with me on August, 14th. Read the interview in which I discuss the importance of learning the lessons from the disaster here.

On the same day, Today in Seychelles published a commentary titled Mauritius oil spill: Seychelles must protect its natural beauty and industry. I argue that Seychelles should urgently review its own contingency plans.

In addition, we published the a more detailed analysis of the response, whether and how the government was prepared and what questions need to be addressed on the same day as SafeSeas Commentary.

The comments were widely picked up in international news, Mauritius Times published further follow ups as did other media in Mauritius.

ISS Today publish a comment coauthored with Timothy Walker on Monday. The piece republished across African newspapers, focuses on the particular consequences for Africa.

The Conversation published a further comment that shows the weakness of the responses of the government and the industry. I argue for a public and transparent investigation of the issue.

A further contribution that addresses the regional consequences for the security architecture in the Western Indian Ocean, co-authored with Tim Edmunds was published by the Observer Research Foundation.