Venkatesh Iyer
NEW DELHI, August 17: About 30 tonnes of technical equipment and materials were dispatched through an IAF C-17 Globemaster Aircraft to Mauritius on Sunday to contain the spillage by a Japanese bulk carrier vessel. It was India’s contribution to assist Mauritius in its efforts to check the oil spill and salvage operations.
The vessel MV Wakashio owned by M/s Okiyo Maritime Corp/ Nagashiki Shipping Co Ltd, a Japanese company, was on its way to Brazil carrying 4000 tonnes of fuel. It was stranded last month on the reef at Pointe d’Esny bordering ecologically sensitive reserves and notable tourist destinations in the South-eastern part of Mauritius.
Since the material required skilled manpower to handle, the Indian Coast Guard, a delegated national authority for oil spill response in Indian waters under the National Oil Spill-Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP), also dispatched a 10-member technical response team trained for handling oil spill containment measures.
India was the first to send help including essential medicines, a medical assistance team and a consignment of Ayurvedic medicines to Mauritius in May as part of its “Mission Sagar” (Security and Growth for all in the Region) scheme during the on-going current COVID-19 pandemic.