The Supreme Court has denied bail to Indian ship captain, Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar fearing the latter could well abscond and flees any prosecution by the Mauritian authorities.
58-year-old Nandeshwar is the captain of MV Wakashio that ran aground on the barrier reef along the south-east coast of Mauritius on 25th July 2020. The Japanese bulk-carrier, belonging to Nagashiki Shipping Co., was en route to Brazil from China when it broke up and spilled oil, causing the tourist-dependent Indian Ocean island nation’s biggest environmental disaster. The damaged ship spilled more than 1,000 tonnes of its cargo of 4,000 tons of fuel into Mahebourg Lagoon, one of the island’s most pristine coastal areas.
The captain was arrested on 18 August 2020 and was charged with violation of the rules governing innocent passage for having failed to ensure that such passage through the territorial sea is incidental to ordinary navigation and is continuous and expeditious and not prejudicial to the good order of Mauritius in “breach of Sections 3 & 28(1)(a) of the Maritime Zones Act 2005 coupled with Articles 18(1)(b) & (2) and Articles 19(1) & 2(1) of the United Nations Convention of the law of the sea (UNCLOS) of 10 December 1982.”.
The captain is from Madhya Pradesh, India and insisted that he will fight to clear his name on this issue and had been offered shelter by the Mauritius Sailors Home Society.
Police objected before the district court of Port-Louis arguing that there is a high risk of absconding. The captain was to live in a place unguarded just two kilometres from the port area. Captain Nandeshwar is an experienced sailor having travelled from India to Mauritius on several occasions.
If found guilty he could be sentenced to five years of prison and a fine around Rs 50 million to be imposed. The District Court magistrate therefore refused bail and Nandeshwar’s lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court. However, the outcome has been the same as the fear expresses by the magistrate in the District Court are genuine according to the Judges in the Supreme Court. The latter stated that Mauritius is a small island, and it is very difficult, if not, impossible, for the authorities to keep the whole of the shores of Mauritius under constant surveillance.
