Japan Sends Officials to Assist Mauritius Oil Spill Response
Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of environment ministry officials and specialists to Mauritius soon to respond to the 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.
The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Japan’s Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
