The Japanese government pledged to provide long-term assistance to help Mauritius deal with the cleanup from the devastating oil spill.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the assistance will not be limited to preventing the further spread of the oil or its removal but will also apply to social and economic sectors.
“We would like to offer assistance in the medium to long-term in those areas while cooperating with the countries involved,” Suga said.
Meanwhile, a document from the Mauritian government showed it has requested Japan to pay 1.34 billion Mauritian rupees ($34 million) to support the local fishing community which has been adversely affected by the oil spill.
The bulk of the money is proposed to be spent on 100 fishing boats while the rest will be spent on training fishermen and skippers who will have to fish in further and rougher waters. Currently, fishing off coastal areas hit by the spill is prohibited.
The Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, ran aground off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean on July 25 creating what officials and environmentalists described as an ecological disaster.
At least 1,000 tonnes of oil were estimated to have leaked from the ship onto the waters surrounding Mauritius prompting the Mauritian government to declare a state of “environmental emergency” on August 7.
Three sailors were killed and another one was reported missing after their tugboat collided with a barge and capsized on Monday.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth had pledged to launch an investigation into both the boat accident and the spill as his government remains under pressure due to its response to the latter.
Japan has already deployed two teams of experts to help Mauritius deal with the incident and is expected to deploy a third one. According to the Ministry of Environment, the team is expected to carry out investigations of mangroves, coral reefs, wildlife, and seawater quality to determine the impact of the spill.
