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MV Wakashio was a Mitsui OSK Lines-managed Panamax bulk carrier built by Universal Shipbuilding (Japan) in 2007. On 25 July 2020 the vessel ran aground on a coral reef off Mauritius while operating at full speed and unattended on the bridge by senior officers (a birthday celebration was underway in another part of the ship). The grounding caused Mauritius's worst-ever oil spill — roughly 1,000 tonnes of bunker fuel oil released into a marine protected area. The vessel broke apart in subsequent salvage operations. The incident led to maritime-law action against the master, chief officer, and operating company.
Wakashio is the case study for bridge-team-management failure in modern maritime training. Every BTM course post-2020 references the incident: the master's absence from the bridge, the underqualified officer-of-the-watch unilateral routing decision, and the cellular-signal-seeking that caused the close approach to land. The lesson — never compromise bridge-team integrity for personal convenience — is on every cruise and cargo bridge wall today.