The captain and first officer of a ship that ran aground on a coral reef in Mauritius have each been sentenced to 20 months in prison. About 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil from the Japanese-owned MV Wakashio leaked into the ocean in July 2020, causing Mauritius’ worst ecological disaster. The magistrate said she hoped that the sentence would “serve as a lesson” for the men, and other potential offenders. Both had pleaded guilty to endangering safe navigation. The captain, Indian national Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, admitted to drinking moderately during a birthday party on board, before the MV Wakashio ran aground on 25 July 2020. He apologised to Mauritians for the damage caused. The first officer, Sri Lankan national Hitihanillage Subhoda Janendra Tilakaratna, appealed to the court for leniency and said he had not been able to see his family since his arrest. In her ruling, magistrate Ida Dookhy-Rambarun said the sentences were “fully warranted”, despite the guilty pleas, and the “clean record and personal circumstances”.(BBC)…[+]