Japan will send an accident investigation team to Mauritius to look into the cause of an oil leak from a Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground off the Indian Ocean island nation in July, the country's transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Friday.
The five-member team will leave Japan on Sunday to carry out a two-week investigation into the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Wakashio. The probe will begin after a two-week quarantine to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the land, infrastructure, transport and tourism ministry.
Although the Japanese government does not have authority over the Panamanian-registered vessel, it has obtained approval from Mauritius and Panama for Tokyo's investigation as the ship was owned and operated by Japanese companies, Akaba said.