The owner of the wreck of the Wakashio wants to limit claims from the accident to about $16.5m.
The ship, which was last year’s most high profile casualty, got grounded and then split in two, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of bunker fuel.
As of now, the bow has been towed away, but salvage operations continue in order to remove the last remains of the stern of the Japanese ship.
After the incident, affected fishermen were hoping for payouts of around $3,000 each from the disaster. However, now that is not guaranteed, as the Japanese owner wants to cut what it has to pay out.
Up until today, Mauritius and private individuals have submitted damage claims totalling approximately $46m.
Appearing in court on Feberuary, the Captain of the ill-fated MV Wakashio, confirmed that he navigated the vessel closer to the shore to look for internet connection for the crew.
The Captain was arrested in August over the incident, charged with endangering safe navigation, and the probe into the incident continues.
The bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground off Mauritius, east Africa, early in the evening of 25 July 2020. The incident attracted significant media attention for several weeks following the occurrence, as fuel oil started leaking from the vessel in the environmentally sensitive region and adverse weather conditions impeded proper response (Find a timeline of events here.)
