1-month impact on the Mauritius grounding accident? What is the cause? August 24, 19:36

The beauty is such that "God first made Mauritius and imitated it to make heaven." Mauritius, an island nation of the Indian Ocean, has attracted tourists all over the world with its white sandy beaches and abundant nature.
However, in July, a freighter chartered by a major Japanese shipping company stranded ashore in the offing, and a large amount of heavy fuel oil spilled. It causes serious environmental pollution.
One month after the accident, the actual condition of the damage is. And what is the focus of the accident cause and compensation issues? I interviewed.
(Shoichiro Beppu, Johannesburg Regional Office/Nao Takatsuka, International Department Hiroko Matsuzaki, Galaxy Tamura/Mototaka Tanaka, Network News Department)

"The Lady of the Indian Ocean" Mauritius

Mauritius is an island nation with a population of 1.27 million in the Indian Ocean in the eastern part of the African continent. Once colonized by the Dutch, French and British colonies, about 70% of the population are Indians of colonial origin.

It is also known as the "lady of the Indian Ocean" because of its beautiful white sand beaches, coral reefs, and rich nature where rare creatures inhabit. It accounts for about 10% of production.

There are three places on the island that are registered under the Ramsar Convention, which defines the conservation of internationally important wetlands, and the protection of the coastal environment and the protection of various species including endemic species are being promoted. It was

Japanese freighter...

The accident happened on July 25, 7:00 pm local time (26th Japan time before dawn). A freighter "WAKASHIO" owned by Chosen Kisen in Okayama Prefecture and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines stranded ashore off the island.

On August 6, just over 10 days later, the fuel oil spill began. According to Mitsui OSK Lines, the fuel loaded on the freighter was about 3,800 tons of heavy oil and about 200 tons of light oil. Of this, about 1000 tons of heavy oil is believed to have leaked to the sea.

MOL said that it had collected about 460 tons by the morning of the 11th of Japan time, and that it had almost recovered the oil remaining on the ship on the 13th.

At a news conference, MOL said, "We deeply apologize for causing a great deal of inconvenience to everyone involved, including Mauritius. I would like to take sincere resolution to resolve the issue to the minimum extent possible."

In addition, Changfeng Steamship Co., Ltd. announced that it "is keenly aware of its responsibility as a party and intends to deal with compensation in good faith in accordance with applicable law."

Heavy oil spill

According to the Mauritius government, this accident caused serious pollution to spread around the coastline and the sea around 10 km southeast of the island.

To protect the beautiful sea, locals floated a handmade oil fence on the sea to keep heavy oil away from the shore, or scooped heavy oil into the bucket by hand.

However, there are concerns about the impact on the ecosystem, including the death of various fish and crabs.

Some fishermen are worried about the future, saying that they may not be able to make a living by fishing.

Mangrove "If you keep oily, you will die in half a year"

Mangrove forests along the coast play an important role in Mauritius' natural environment.

A wide variety of organisms inhabit and support ecosystems such as shellfish, fish, and birds, but some of the heavy oil also drifts around the mangrove forests of the wetlands registered under the Ramsar Convention.

Mangrove forests have complicated roots and the surrounding area is difficult to access in wetlands, so removal work is difficult.

Shigeyuki Baba, Chairman of the International Association of Mangrove Ecosystems and Professor Emeritus of the University of the Ryukyus said, ``Mangrove roots absorb nutrients and breathe, but when oil adheres, toxic components permeate, The cell membrane will break and die."
In view of the damage situation of past spill accidents, Mr. Baba appealed the necessity of the removal work as soon as possible, saying "If the oil on the mangroves continues to adhere, it will die in about half a year". I am.

Expanding international support

The Mauritius government has now declared an "environmental emergency" and called on the international community for urgent assistance. Overseas media have also been widely reported, and international support is expanding.

Former Supreme President of France, Macron, posted on Twitter on Twitter that "it is necessary to act urgently when biodiversity is at stake", providing supplies such as oil fences and dispatching experts. We have launched such support.

On August 10th and 19th, Japan dispatched 13 experts from Japan Coast Guard and Ministry of the Environment as International Emergency Relief Corps to investigate the situation of oil spill and its impact on the environment. .. Japanese companies also sent adsorbents using special fibers that absorb only oil to the site.

In addition, India, China and other countries are also providing assistance by sending people and providing supplies for oil recovery work.

Uncovered cargo ship wake

The major focus in the future is to investigate the cause of the accident.

According to an analysis by "IHI Jet Service," which analyzes the data of the device that sends the position of the ship by radio waves called AIS, the cargo ship left China on July 4, and after passing through Singapore, It was heading west in the Indian Ocean.

On July 25, when he was sailing about 2 kilometers southeast of Mauritius, he changed the course to about 90 degrees to the right within a minute or so, and the speed at which he was proceeding at around 10 knots also dropped to less than 1 knot. I understand.

Nobukazu Wakabayashi, a professor of Kobe University graduate school who is familiar with ship accidents, said, "Usually, we do not artificially change the direction of the ship, but it seems that the direction of the ship suddenly changed when something hit the bottom of the ship." He points out that this collision is likely to have caused grounding.

According to the analysis data, the freighter then drifted about 1 km north, and the transmission of radio waves ceased on August 5, just 10 days later.

Comparing data from other vessels navigating in this area, they also found that the freighter was about 16 kilometers northwest, near the coast of Mauritius.

Prof. Wakabayashi said, "There are many coral reefs in the surrounding area, so it is necessary to be careful. It is unlikely that you will come all the way to a dangerous place." A freighter taking an unusual route led to an accident. It shows the perspective that it might have been.

Did the company know that the freighter was taking such a dangerous route?

MOL, which chartered the freighter, said, “I understand that the ship was off the normal route, but we are in a position to charter the ship. I would like Tsubaki to confirm."

In addition, Changfeng Kisen said, “I know the route, but the authorities are currently investigating it, and I would like to refrain from commenting. The cause of the grounding was to ask the crew again after hearing the authorities. I will do it."

To investigate the cause of the accident

To investigate the cause of the accident, local police arrested two Indian captains and a Sri Lankan deputy captain on August 18, allegedly threatening the safety of navigation. The two are expected to appear on the 25th to determine if the court will accept bail.

In addition to the two people arrested, the police revealed to the NHK interview that 18 Sri Lankan and Filipino crew members were talking about the situation at the time.

Some local media reported that the crew may have approached the island in search of internet access over the accident, but Mauritius officials declined this view from Reuters. I am.

Police officials say, "There are various speculations, but we are investigating each one carefully."

Compensation for the accident

It is from now on to determine how much the work cost and compensation amount due to this accident will eventually rise.

In the event of an oil spill on a cargo ship, the owner of the ship will be liable for the liability, which is stipulated in the international treaty “bunker treaty”.

In the case of this accident, the owner will be Nagaoka Steamship in Okayama Prefecture. According to the “Japan P & I CLUB” public relations office of the mutual insurance association that Changfeng Kisen joins, the amount of compensation for accidents is determined by the international treaty called “Shipowner Liability Limitation Convention” based on the volume of a ship. Under this treaty, in this case, the maximum amount of compensation to the Mauritius government is JPY 1.9 billion.

In addition to this, insurance is applied to the costs of oil recovery, etc., which Changfeng Steamer carries out, and the upper limit is about 106 billion yen.

What happens to the freighter

Disposal of the hull has also begun. The freighter, which had cracks after it ran, broke into two large pieces on August 15.

The Mauritius authorities decided to tow the front part of the hull 10 kilometers offshore, sunk it and dispose of it.

In response, environmental NGO Greenpeace Africa and others have issued a statement criticizing that "the disposal method of sinking a cargo ship puts biodiversity at risk and pollutes the sea."

Regarding the rear part of the hull with bridges etc., the authorities plan to remove the oil remaining inside and then dismantle it at the place where it was aground.

Mauritus in "double pain" Japan's role in question

Mauritius once had no prominent industry other than sugar cane, but has continued economic development with the stable political situation, the active acceptance of foreign investment, and the establishment of new office areas where foreign companies can enter.

However, it is feared that the accident will hit one of the pillars of the economy, tourism.

As a countermeasure against the new coronavirus infection, Mauritius virtually closed the border after March, the tourism industry was already severely damaged, and the local people were aground accident that caused anxiety about the future. ..

According to the Mauritius government, less than 5% of the island's coastline was affected by a heavy oil spill, but it may take a long time to recover the tourist image along with the damaged ecosystem.

This time, Japan is a party to environmental pollution in Mauritius. It is necessary to work with the local authorities to find out why the accident occurred, and to prevent it from happening again, and to clarify the cause.

The international community is questioning how to support the reconstruction of this beautiful island nation that was hit by an unprecedented accident.

Johannesburg Branch
Shoichiro Beppu

International Department
Nao Takatsuka

International Department
Hiroko Matsuzaki

International Department
Tamura Galaxy

Network Press Department
Motoki Tanaka