TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese granelero that crashed into a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius and leaked at least 1,000 tons of oil passed an annual inspection in March over any problems, Japanese inspection firm ClassNK said Tuesday.
The ship, MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated through Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, crashed into the reef on July 25 and the oil leak raised fears of a primary ecological crisis on the Indian Ocean island.
Having already declared a state of emergency, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said the shipment had stopped spilling oil, but that the island country has yet to prepare for “the worst case scenario.”
“We’ll do everything we can around the stage quickly,” Mitsui OSK said in a statement Tuesday, adding that he doubted that the incident would have a significant enough effect on his earnings to justify posting a disclosure to investors. .
The company said it had sent six workers to the site and was contemplating sending more as well as transportation supplies. The body of deployed workers underwent coronavirus tests before being sent.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) said it had joined foreign efforts to combat Mauritius’ oil spill by providing technical recommendations and coordinating the response. United Nations agencies and other foreign organizations also mobilized experts on the environment and oil spills.
(Reporting through Kiyoshi Takenaka and Kaori Kaneko, Jonathan Saul in London; Editing via Shri Navaratnam – Simon Cameron-moore)
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