Chinese SOEs donate oil cleanup supplies to Mauritius after oil spill (linked to #92242)

On July 25, 2020, a 200,000-ton Japanese freighter Wakashio ran aground near the Blue Bay Marine Park in Mauritius while on its way from China to Brazil. On August 6, 2020, the ship suffered a serious oil spill. About 1,000 tons of heavy oil leaked and polluted the nearby sea and beaches. The Mauritian government declared a state of environmental emergency on August 7th. In response to the disaster, 15 Chinese companies, the majority of which were state owned enterprises (SOEs), donated pollution clean up supplies such as geotextiles, safety nets, protective clothing, large iron buckets, and drones. It is unclear which company donated which supplies, and in what quantity. The total worth of the donation was about 1.37 million rupees by August 12, 2020, and was given to the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Mauritius. The companies that participated in this donation included China State Construction Engineering, Beijing Construction Engineering, China Road and Bridge, Huawei, Sinohydro, China Jiangsu International, Tianli Spinning, Shanxi Jinfei co., China International Water & Electrical Corp, Henan Water Conservancy Investment Group, Kuanfu Tea, Yihai Properties Group, and Yutu. The full list of enterprises is unavailable. This effort was organized under the leadership of the Party Committee of the Chinese Embassy in Mauritius and the Chinese-Funded Enterprise Association in Mauritius. The companies also organized 200 employees to volunteer as part of beach cleanup activities. The donation of Shanxi Construction is captured in project #92242.

Additional details

1) Transaction amount not recorded since it is unknown how much of the donation came from state-owned companies compared to private sector companies. The total amount provided in the description is taken from the website of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. 2) It is unclear what supplies were donated on what date and by which company. 3) Commitment date and implementation dates are estimated based on the beginning of the oil leak (Aug. 6) and the date given by MofCom of the final total of donations (Aug. 12).

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

6