Threat to Marine Life After Oil Spill Off Chennai Coast

The collision between the LPG vessel MT BW Maple and oil tanker MT Dawn Kanchipuram happened on Saturday at 4 am.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Shravan Krishnan)

A day after the fuel tank of an oil tanker ship burst after a collision with an LPG carrying vessel, dead turtles and fish floated on the sea at Ernavur.

There is no damage like oil spill and no casualty or injury to any person. Both vessels are afloat and anchored. The extent of damage is under assessment.

Kamarajar Port statement

In the last few days, multiple reports of turtles dying due to the oil spill near Ennore port had appeared. Activists, however, have said that the turtles found dead and covered in oil were not killed by the oil spill. However, they caution that this does not mean that turtle and other marine life will not be affected in the next few days.

The marine life very close to the shore will be affected by the oil spill. There are many micro-organisms living near the coast, also crabs and fish, which will be affected by it. The impact will be felt in the next few days when turtle mothers come ashore.

Shravan Krishnan, Animal Rights Activist

MA Bhaskarachar, chairman of the Kamaraj Port in Ennore told The Times of India that at least one ton of heavy furnace oil (HFO) may have leaked from MT Dawn tanker Kanchipuram. He added that the incident may have occurred due to miscommunication between both the ships.

Indian Coast Guard on Sunday said it coordinated the mopping operations of oil spill due to the collision of the two petroleum product carriers.

The Coast Guard has already issued a notice to the master and the owner of the vessel to take all actions to undertake containment and recovery of oil spill and to keep the environment clean.

The collision between liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel MT BW Maple and oil tanker MT Dawn Kanchipuram happened on Saturday early morning 4 am.

In a statement issued in Chennai, the Coast Guard said it received information about drifting oil spill near Ennore from an inspector of the Fisheries Department.

The Coast Guard promptly mobilised their Pollution Response Team (East) team for the mopping operation in close liaison with the State District Collector, Pollution Board, (formerly) Ennore Port (now Kamarajar Port) and local fisheries authorities.

Coast Guard statement

According to the Coast Guard, the initial assessment indicated a small patch of about 50 x 30 metre stretch along the rock beach.

The oil spill is suspected to be from the oil tanker MT Dawn Kanchipuram.

Coast Guard Pollution Response Team along with Oil MOP Skimmer undertook the mopping operations to clear the drifted oil slick from the beach area.

"The mopping operation is likely to continue for the next day with an aim to clean the beach from the oil slick," Coast Guard said.

Shipping industry professionals had said that it was “providential” that no major damage occurred due to the collision, which seems to be due to grave human error.

The LPG carrier was outbound while the other was inbound.

It could certainly be said that it was a lucky escape as no major damage has happened to the vessels.

Girish Sehgal, LNG Vessel Technical Adviser

Industry professionals said even if the LPG tanker is empty, there is always a risk of explosion due to presence of gas traces in emptied tanks.