According to foreign media reports, Mauritius recently released a long-suppressed court investigation report on the 2020 “Wakashio” grounding incident. The report’s findings are shocking—revealing what investigators called a “complete lack of a safety culture on the ‘Wakashio’.” The disaster stemmed from distraction, negligence, and a systemic lack of oversight.
The “Wakashio” cargo ship deviated by 5 nautical miles off the coast of Mauritius while the crew was searching for a mobile signal. The report stated: “The chief officer was solely focused on his mobile phone and did not notice the deviation from the course.” Even when the captain returned to the bridge, “no corrective measures were taken, despite the ship dangerously approaching the coast.”
The investigation also condemned the shipowner and management company’s safety management system, which “was not implemented in practice and was ignored by senior officers.” Investigators concluded that discipline on the bridge had completely collapsed: “The bridge team failed to fulfill its basic duty of maintaining a proper lookout.”
Local authorities also share the blame. The Mauritius Coast Guard, responsible for monitoring territorial waters, “failed to detect or act upon the ‘Wakashio’s’ abnormal course,” while the environmental response was criticized as “slow and inadequate.”
Nearly 1,000 tons of fuel oil leaked into the lagoon, mangroves, and coral reefs, causing the country’s worst ecological disaster. However, this report was shelved in government drawers for years, sparking accusations of a cover-up.
The report concluded: “This accident was entirely avoidable. It was caused by human error, exacerbated by systemic failures at all levels.”
The Japan Transport Safety Board released its report on the grounding of the Newcastlemax bulk carrier “Wakashio” two years ago.
As with other reports on this disaster, the crew’s decision to approach the shore in search of a phone signal was identified as the primary cause of the accident.
According to the report, the captain of the giant ship ordered a change from the planned route towards the coast without obtaining charts of the area, leading to the grounding.
Before the accident, the captain had also drunk two glasses of whiskey at a crew member’s birthday party.
Panama, as the flag state, released the final investigation report into the cargo ship grounding in July 2023. The report stated that the crew’s decision to search for shore-based Wi-Fi signals was the main cause of the accident.
The cleanup of the wreck of the giant ship “Wakashio” took 18 months. The ship broke in two on a coral reef near a UNESCO-protected World Heritage site.
Investigations into the “Wakashio” often focus on the ship’s crew. However, the problems within Mauritius, as the coastal state, have received less attention.
According to British maritime journalist Stephen Spark, the country’s coastal surveillance radar was poorly maintained, with some equipment unusable; the Coast Guard post at Pointe du Diable, near the grounding site, was understaffed, and the personnel on duty were not proficient in operating the radar and radio equipment.
Therefore, Spark believes that the ship not receiving an alert about its perilous situation was also a contributing factor to the accident.
Compiled by Shipping Online.
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