Mauritius Asks Japan for Fitted Fishing Trawlers After Oil Spill

(Bloomberg) -- Mauritius asked Japan for fishing trawlers, weeks after a bulk carrier owned by a Japanese company ran aground off its coast and caused the Indian Ocean island nation’s worst environmental disaster.

“It would be appreciated if the Government of Japan could consider granting 100 semi-industrial fully-equipped fishing boats to the Mauritian fishers to allow them to operate in off-lagoon,” Financial Secretary Dev Manraj wrote in a letter dated Aug. 21 to Japan’s ambassador in Mauritius, seen by Bloomberg.

The letter doesn’t refer to the oil spill caused by the MV Wakashio, a ship owned by Nagashiki Shipping Co. About 1,000 tons of the fuel leaked into the sea, damaging lagoons and impacting the daily livelihoods of the community. The vessel, which was en route to Brazil, broke up on a reef and part of it was scuttled.

The total cost for the fishing boats would be about 1.2 billion rupees ($31 million), according to the project proposals drafted by the Mauritian marine resources and fisheries ministry.

The request comes after Mauritius’s Prime Minister, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, said last month that his government is seeking compensation from those responsible for the spillage.

Relevant Laws

“There are several requests made by the Government of Mauritius,” Japan’s embassy in Mauritius said in an emailed response to questions. “Tokyo is currently working to expedite what Japan can do in response to these requests.”

Yoshinori Fukushima, a spokesman for Nagashiki Shipping, said on Tuesday he wasn’t aware of the Mauritian request. The company plans to deal with compensation issues based on relevant laws while it monitors the investigation into the incident, he said.

The Mauritian financial secretary’s office declined to comment on the letter when contacted by Bloomberg.

Fishing outside of lagoons, in the economic exclusive zone of Mauritius, rose 9.4% in 2019 compared with a year earlier, while coastal catches declined 1.3%, according to the country’s data agency.

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