The FV Imula was intercepted by the National Coast Guard (NCG) five nautical miles (about 10 km) from Mauritius on Sunday 5 February. The authorities believe that the ship was trying to reach Reunion Island. The vessel entered Mauritian territorial waters on 3 February. It was 205 nautical miles (387 km) from Grand Gaube and continued to approach Mauritius. When the FV Imula was intercepted, the captain explained to the NCG that he was approaching Mauritius because he needed 1000 litres of fuel. He also indicated that he had left Sri Lanka to head for an African country since 4 December last. The ship stopped in Diego Garcia on 15 January. The FV Imula had 18 passengers on board, including three children. Now, the ship’s position is under continuous surveillance. The boat had entered the territorial waters of Mauritius since last Friday, 3 February, when it was still just under 400km from Mauritius, which it continued to approach.
Reunion media reported that the Sri Lankan-flagged fishing boat was supposed to arrive in Reunion Island on Monday 6 February. It remains to be seen whether, once it has left Mauritius, the Imula 0437 CHW will resume its route towards Reunion Island, where since March 2018, 11 Sri Lankan boats carrying immigration candidates have docked. The last arrival to date was on 14 January 2023: 69 Sri Lankan migrants had set foot on the island, 31 of whom had been authorised to fill in an asylum application file after examination by Ofpra (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons).
