Oil spill in Mauritius, Japan sends assistance

(ANSA) - TOKYO, AUGUST 09 - The Tokyo government will send a team of experts to Mauritius to provide assistance after the fuel leaking from the ship owned by a Japanese shipowner and the risk of an unprecedented environmental disaster. A team of six will leave Monday morning for Port Louis, the island's capital 550km east of Madagascar, where the tanker ran aground.
    The Japanese executive explained in a statement that the team has a specific knowledge of rescue activities in the management of environmental disasters, and the removal of pollutants to safeguard ecosystems.
    Among the team are 4 members of the National Coast Guard, an official from the Foreign Ministry and one from the International Cooperation Agency.
    Separately, in a press conference the deputy Chairmanof Mitsui OSK, Akihiko Ono, has apologized for the incident eha promised to contribute their best to solve the case inmaniera sent in cooperation with the company ship armatriceproprietaria, Nagashiki Shipping Co.
    The long oil tanker 300 meters, launched in 2007, she sailed from China, via Singapore, with final destination in Brazil.
   It was carrying around 3,800 tons of oil when it ran aground on July 25 in Pointe d'Esny, an area protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, located near the Blue Bay park, another endangered ecosystem.
    Since Thursday morning, more than 1,000 tons of oil have spilled into the sea, forcing Mauritian Prime Minister PravindJugnauth to declare a "state of environmental emergency".
   (HANDLE).