Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of officials from the ministry and other specialists to Mauritius to assess the damage from an oil spill.
A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1 000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of “environmental emergency” in what some scientists call the country’s worst ecological disaster.
Scientists say the full impact of the toxic spill is still unfolding.
Removing the ship will be a delicate operation and is likely to take months.
France, which once ruled Mauritius as a colony, has said it will assist with the cleanup.
Mr Koizumi says the oil spill is a grave crisis that could lead to a loss of biodiversity.
Craig Downs, an environmental toxicologist says for both people and wildlife, the spill will have a “resonating and resounding impact for the next 10 to 20 years”.
