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Shipping company pledges million aid to Mauritius

2020-09-11T07:49:47.433Z


The freighter "Wakashio" had a wreck off the coast of the island state, and a thousand tons of oil spilled into a lagoon. Now the shipping company has promised financial aid to alleviate the environmental disaster.


Icon: enlarge

The ship of the accident "Wakashio" (archive picture from August 9th)

Photo: Gwendoline Defente / AP

After the wreck of its freighter, the Japanese operating group promised the island nation of Mauritius millions in aid.

As Mitsui OSK Lines announced on Friday, around one billion yen will be invested over the next few years for environmental and other measures to support the island state.

That corresponds to eight million euros.

The freighter "Wakashio" ran aground on a coral reef off the southeast coast more than a month ago.

After one of the tanks broke, around 1,000 tons of fuel poured into a lagoon.

The local government spoke of the worst environmental disaster in the history of the vacation paradise.

According to the company, the aid also includes a fund to restore the environment, for which the company plans to provide 800 million yen over the next few years.

This is intended to finance projects to protect coral reefs and mangrove forests, among other things.

Another 100 million yen will go to NGOs and public authorities.

It is not yet clear how great the damage is to the environment.

The misfortune is a catastrophe for the island in any case: Mauritius is highly dependent on its coastal areas - not only because of the fishing, but also because the coral reefs are among the most beautiful in the world and are popular with tourists.

The cause of the accident is open.

The ship's captain and his helmsman were arrested.

Parts of the wreck have already been sunk in the open sea at a depth of around 3000 meters.

According to the authorities, it had previously been freed from oil and debris.

Icon: The mirror

jpz / dpa / Reuters

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2020-09-11

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