Mumbai, August 9
The oil spill from one of the two Panamian cargo ships which ran aground stopped today, three days after they collided off Mumbai coast in a big relief but environmental concerns remained over spread of the oil slick and presence of toxic chemicals in the waters.
“The leakage of oil from the ship (MSC Chitra) has stopped on its own,” said SPS Basra, IG Coast Guard (Western Region).
Preliminary investigations launched by the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) have indicated navigational error and failure of radio communication between the two vessels as possible reasons for the mishap on Saturday.
The development in the evening came even as foreign experts were called in to limit the damage of the oil spill as the leakage spread to new areas posing a major
ecological threat to the city coastline.
“It is observed that in the last six hours, the fuel from the ship tank has stopped coming out. So, it is a relief kind of thing,” Basra said as coastguards battled choppy seas and strong winds to contain the spill. Researchers from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) who are monitoring the progress of the oil spill from the ill-fated cargo ship said the slick was spreading. “The oil slick is spreading towards the Raigad coast and towards South Mumbai,” a BNHS officer said.
Researchers have reported that tar balls from the oil slick have been washed ashore at Rewas, Mandwa, Alibaug and along the Konkan coast. Similarly, the pollutants have also washed ashore at the Gateway of India. A big blob of oil slick is floating towards the ancient Elephanta Caves across South Mumbai, officials said.
MSC Chitra had collided with MV Khalijia-111, about 10 km off the Mumbai coast.
Oil was leaking from two of the 12 tanks of MSC Chitra which had got damaged due to the collision. The two tanks could together hold 879 tonne of oil, sources in the Coast Guard said. The accident caused the vessel to run aground and list heavily to one side. The ship had 2,262 tonne of oil and up to 400 tonne of it had leaked into the Arabian sea.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said feared that toxic and corrosive materials in the vessel may have got mixed up with fuel oil in the sea. “The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC) was also alerted over use of sea water for its nucleear facilities.
The Navy and the Coast Guards carried out anti-pollution operations for the third consecutive day spraying dispersants to check and neutralise the oil spill.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advised people not to eat fish and other seafood following spillage of oil. In its advisory issued here today, the civic body said fish, crabs, shellfish and other forms of seafood may be contaminated with petroleum, chemicals and other substances as a result of the spill. The BMC also warned fishermen against venturing out into the sea because of the danger posed by loosely floating cargo from MSC Chitra. Meanwhile, the captains of the two ships have been charged under various sections of the IPC.
