Volunteers take part in the cleanup operation in Mahebourg, Mauritius Wednesday Aug. 12, 2020 surrounding the oil spill from the MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that recently ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius. Anxious residents of this Indian Ocean island nation have stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves in an effort to stop the oil spill from reaching their shores. (AP Photo/Beekash Roopun-L'express Maurice)

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Japan to send team to Mauritius to assist in oil spill

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Published on: June 16, 2023

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Volunteers take part in the clean up operation in Mahebourg, Mauritius Wednesday Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Beekash Roopun-L’express Maurice)

Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of officials from the ministry and other specialists to Mauritius to assess the damage from an oil spill.

A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of “environmental emergency” in what some scientists call the country’s worst ecological disaster.

Removing the ship will be a delicate operation and is likely to take months. France, which once ruled Mauritius as a colony, has said it will assist with the cleanup.

Koizumi also told reporters on Saturday he saw the oil spill as a grave crisis that could lead to a loss of biodiversity.

The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines.

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