Mitsui: The "Waskashio" accident was caused by the crew's "trawling"

MOL explains in a new report that the crew of the MV Wakashio, a dry bulk carrier, changed the ship's track from 22 nautical miles off the coast of Mauritius to two nautical miles in order to get into an area with mobile phone coverage before the ship ran aground.

MOL has accused the sailors on the MV Wakashio dry bulk carrier of "unsafe behaviour" when the vessel ran aground off the coast of Mauritius, causing a serious oil spill and environmental disaster for the small island state.MOL, the charterer of the MV Wakashio, wrote in a report that sailors on board tried to reach an area "within cellphone range" before the incident. 

According to the witness testimony of the shipowners, the map used by the crew did not meet the required proportions, except that the ship's track was changed from 22 nautical miles to 2 nautical miles. 

Earlier, Panamanian maritime authorities said the incident occurred after a birthday party for one of the ship's crew caused the ship to change course. 

To avoid similar accidents in the future, MOL plans to install high-speed and high-capacity communications systems on all of its ships and is asking owners of chartered ships to do the same.In addition, MOL plans to invest $4.8 million in safety activities to avoid similar problems in the future.