Aug 20 (Kyodo) - The Japanese government has been criticized by environmental groups for its weak presence and slow response in tackling an oil spill disaster caused by a Japanese freighter that ran aground off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean last month.
On Aug. 10, four days after oil started to leak from the Wakashio vessel, Japan dispatched a six-member relief team, but the government has maintained a low-key attitude about the crisis compared with countries such as France and India, according to the groups and locals in Mauritius.
"The Japanese government seems to be on the defensive, perhaps due to fears of damages claims," said Kanna Mitsuta, executive director at the Japan unit of the nongovernmental environmental group Friends of the Earth International.
"It may not be legally responsible for the disaster as the freighter was Panamanian-flagged, but it is effectively a Japanese one as it was operated and owned by Japanese shipping companies," she said. "The government should get more involved as if it was its own problem."
Mitsuta also said Japan can also play an active role by sharing its experience and expertise in dealing with maritime accidents.
The bulk carrier Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping Co. and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., was carrying a total of some 3,800 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel when it ran aground near Pointe d'Esny, designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, on July 25.
Leakage began on Aug. 6 when one of the five fuel tanks suffered a crack. Mitsui O.S.K. said more than 1,000 tons of fuel oil has leaked from the vessel, which was en route to Brazil from China via Singapore.
