Outgoing Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) chief executive Junichiro Ikeda has said the company must never allow a Wakashio-type incident to happen again.

The Nagashiki Shipping-owned, MOL-chartered bulker ran aground off Mauritius in July, causing widespread pollution after the crew sailed the ship close inshore allegedly in search of a mobile phone signal.

“At the beginning of every year, I recommit to safe operation, but this year our attachment to safety goes deeper than usual,” Ikeda said in his last annual New Year message to staff.