Mumbai: A major threat to marine life looms across India's western coast as oil continued to spill from the dangerously tilted ship that collided with another vessel on Saturday about 10 km from Mumbai harbour.
The situation is compounded by containers tumbling down into the sea from the tilted Panamian ship MSC Chitra, making navigation hazardous.
Around 300 containers, many of them carrying chemicals and pesticides, are floating in the choppy Arabian Sea near the busy harbours of Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), with a few being towed away.
Economic losses
Traffic has been suspended in the seaway and could pose economic losses as the two big ports of India's financial capital are affected.
The oil spill as well as the threat of dangerous chemicals leaking out of the containers is likely to seriously harm marine life. There is widespread concern that the mangroves along several coastal districts will be affected.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been advised against taking sea water from the creek for its coolant plants. Fish lovers in Mumbai would have to go without sea food for the next few days as fishermen have been advised against fishing activities.
Coast Guard officials say they are doing their best to contain the oil leakage by spraying oil spill dispersants but containment and recovery of spilled oil is not feasible because of the rocky surface and prevailing weather and tidal conditions. The thick oil slick has already been sighted 1.5-2 miles around the ship which was loaded with 2,600 metric tonnes of oil, 300 tonnes of diesel and 89 tonnes of lubricating oil at the time of the accident.
Already 500 metric tonnes has leaked into the sea and now the urgent requirement is for the shipping companies to empty the oil in the ship, said Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
"The situation is quite serious," he said after surveying the spillage area following an aerial survey in a helicopter. "I saw a number of containers floating in the sea," he added.
The debris from Chitra was washed ashore in Mumbai's beaches while the containers have been spotted in the sea off Alibag, some 100km south of Mumbai. All coastal districts of Maharashtra are on high alert with local administrators in Alibag and Murud-Janjira asking fishermen not to go out fishing.
Precarious situation
Defense ministry spokesman Captain M. Nambiar told AFP that the vessel's position was "precarious", adding: "It's difficult to get on board to locate the point of leakage."
Broken patches of oil have already been cleared around Elephanta Island, a World Heritage Site and tourist attraction in Mumbai Harbour, the defense ministry said in a statement on Sunday. But environmental emergency teams put on alert since the collision said yesterday that oil had been discovered on beaches on the mainland across the Arabian Sea from the landmark Gateway of India monument.
Deepak Apte, a senior scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society, said some oil patches were up to 15cm in length.
"We are taking samples for analysis," he was quoted as saying by the domestic Press Trust of India news agency. "This may be only a beginning of finding the on-shore oil spill."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for a report from the Shipping Ministry on the incident. "The Prime Minister has called for a preliminary report from the Shipping Ministry on the oil spill," PMO sources said.
The issue was also raised in the Rajya Sabha where Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said legal action has been initiated against owners of the two vessels. "Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board has already initiated legal action against the owners of the ships," Ramesh said.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning around 10am when the outbound MSC Chitra from JNPT collided with the inbound vessel MV Khalijia-III, which had grounded on July 19 and was being taken for repairs. The Indian coast Guard rescued 33 crew members from the ship.
A First Information Report has been registered against the captains and crew members of both the ships under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Environment Protection Act at the Yellow Gate police station. The crew has been summoned for questioning.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Port has appointed SMIT Salvage, a Netherlands-based company to control the oil spill. The company is working with 11 off-shore vessels.
— With inputs from agencies
