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Japan's Transport Safety Authority released final report into grounding

Japan's Transport Safety Authority concluded on Sep 28, 2023, that the 'Wakashio' ran aground in the evening of July 25, 2020, off Mauritius in 2020 because it altered its planned route and approached the coast in order to pick up mobile phone signals. The Japan Transport Safety Board also said that COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures may have slowed containment efforts and increased the damage caused by the massive oil spill. The bulk carrier, chartered by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and owned by Nagashiki Shipping Co. in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, spilled about 1,000 tons of fuel oil into a pristine marine environment in the Indian Ocean. The board's three-year investigation also found that safety awareness among crew members was low as the freighter had repeatedly approached close to coastlines to connect to mobile phone networks in the past as well. According to the report, the captain of the vessel ordered it to divert from its planned route and approach the coast without obtaining marine charts of the area. Marine charts would have alerted the ship to crucial information such as that the water depth along the coastline in the area was shallower than 20 meters. The route was changed two days before the grounding incident, with the distance from the coast of Mauritius altered from 22 nautical miles to five nautical miles. On the day of the accident, the ship tried to further reduce the distance from the coast from five nautical miles to two nautical miles, according to the report. The Indian captain and his first officer, a Sri Lankan national, were focused on signal receptions for their smartphones. The captain also had two glasses of whisky and water at the birthday party of a crew member before the accident.

Residents are demanding compensation of Rs 5.3 billion

Almost three years after the grounding of the 'WakashioÄ, the 1,762 residents and operators of the affected island are demanding compensation of Rs 5.3 billion. This sum is distributed around Rs 3 million per person. A "Complaint With Summons" was filed by Maître Robin Mardemootoo of Dentons Mauritius LLP in the Supreme Court. This complaint targets the Okiyo Maritime Corp, Nagashiki Shipping Co Ltd, Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd. and The Japan ship owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association. The complaint contains 36 pages in which the results of the investigation into the accident were detailed. Complainants referred in the document to the significant impacts on the marine environment, the economic sector and livelihoods. They pointed to the immense responsibility of the crew and the company for the collateral damage suffered by the Mauritian fauna and flora.

Accident report made public

After months of effort, the final accident report from Panama concerning the grounding of the 'Wakashio' on July 25, 2020, has been made public. Although an accident report was filed with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) a few years ago by the ship's registry, Panama, it has only now been obtained. The report says the crew was celebrating a crew member's birthday on the day of the accident and decided to move closer to shore to find a wifi signal so he could phone his family. The officer of the watch was probably distracted by his mobile phone as the ship ran onto a reef off Mauritius, and he did not respect the five-mile distance from shore, as stipulated by the captain. The report also states that it took around 30 minutes after the grounding for the crew to contact local authorities in Mauritius. A lack of vigilance, lack of support on the bridge, overconfidence and lack of personal capacity, as well as the inadequacy of procedures were all human factors that led to the environmental disaster that unfolded over the following months. The Wakashio was owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). It was managed by the Anglo-Eastern company. MOL revealed that the crew was using a nautical chart that was not of sufficient scale to confirm the exact distance from shore and water depth and that a crew member had neglected to keep a proper lookout, both visual and radar. Although the investigation report was submitted to the IMO in 2021, it has just now been made available to the public. Full report: https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Final-Investigation-Report-Wakashio-25-July-2020-1.pdf