Mauritius, a jewel in the Indian Ocean, has long been a strategic maritime hub. Situated on major shipping routes linking Europe, Africa and Asia, Mauritius has historically served as a vital stop for ships travelling between continents. During the colonial era, particularly under French and British rule, Mauritius was fiercely contested due to its strategic value as a naval base and trade hub, earning the nickname the "Star and Key of the Indian Ocean". This key maritime heritage is reflected in Mauritius’ national coat of arms, with the shield featuring ship, star and key emblems in three of the four quadrants. Underneath the shield, the national moto in Latin “Stella Clavisque Maris Indici” translates directly as "Star and Key of the Indian Ocean."
MOL (Mauritius) Ltd was officially established in October 2020 in response to the grounding of MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier owned and managed by another shipping company but time chartered to MOL. MOL’s environment restoration, conservation and sustainability related activities in Mauritius since this incident are well documented (https://www.mol.co.jp/en/formauritius), but less well known is MOL’s actual shipping history with Mauritius. In fact, MOL vessels, including those of our predecessor companies Osaka Shosen Kaisha and Mitsui Bussan, have been calling at Mauritius for over 100 years! For this first blog from MOL (Mauritius) Ltd, we dig into historical archives to try and piece together MOL’s shipping history with Mauritius.
The earliest historical references found so far come from the commercial history archives of Blyth Brothers & Company Limited which was founded in Mauritius in 1830 and today forms part of IBL Group, Mauritius’ largest conglomerate group.
IBL Group’s archives record that Blyth Brothers & Company Limited became agent for Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Limited during World War 1 (1914-1918) when Japanese vessels involved in supporting the transportation of ally Australian troops called Port Louis to take coal.
The IBL Group archives also contain a list from 1930 of companies for whom Blyth Brothers & Company Limited acted as “Agents and Correspondents for”, which reveals Osaka Shosen Kaisha vessels were also calling Port Louis by 1930.
The earliest reference to Mauritius found in MOL archives record that Osaka Shosen Kaisha’s vessels made occasional calls to Port Louis after the East Africa Line service, which was established in 1926, was extended to also serve South America East Coast from 1931 onwards.
MOL archives also record that regular calls to Port Louis commenced after World War 2 when Osaka Shosen Kaisha resumed the South Africa Line service in 1957. An Osaka Shosen Kaisha sailing schedule from April 1958 show scheduled calls to Port Louis in May and June 1958 by time charter vessels Toko Maru and Miyatama Maru.
MOL archives also provide a photo of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha-owned vessel Mombasa Maru, which served on the South Africa Line from 1962 onwards.
The archives of MOL and Blyth Brothers & Company Limited have surprisingly revealed to us MOL’s long but relatively unknown history of shipping business with Mauritius. Incredibly, the shipping agency relationship with Blyth Brothers & Company Limited established in 1914 has continued and now extends to 111 years! Today, Blyth Brothers & Company Limited successor company Blyth Brothers Agency is MOL’s trusted agent for MOLACE’s Pure Car & Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels which presently call 2-3 times a month.
Blyth Brothers Agency also acted as agent when MOL created another more recent piece of history, the first call to Mauritius of MOL’s flagship cruise ship Nippon Maru in January 2023. Symbolically, Nippon Maru was the first cruise ship to call Mauritius after the Covid pandemic, and the first cruise ship to dock at Mauritius’ new state-of-the-art Christian Decotter Cruise Terminal which positions Mauritius as the leading cruise hub in the Indian Ocean.
To introduce MOL’s long but relatively unknown shipping history with Mauritius, MOL and Blyth Brothers Agency will proudly host the first MOL Mauritius Vessel Open Day in August 2025 and invite stakeholders from the Government, media, private sector and non-profit sector to visit an MOL PCTC vessel.
MOL (Mauritius) Ltd may have only been established in October 2020 but we take custody of a rich history and long-established relationships. We will look to leverage these as we grow MOL Group’s business and presence in Mauritius and the region.
Published with special thanks to Blyth Brothers Agency for sharing information from IBL Group commercial history archives.
