The crew of two ship which caused a massive oil spill in Chennai by colliding off the city’s coast are being interrogated to determine responsibility. They have been forbidden to leave the Kamarajar port located outside Chennai till the investigation is over.
On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu Police has registered cases against the management of two ships.
On 28 January, MT Dawn Kanchipuram, carrying petroleum oil lubricants (POL), and MT BW Maple, loaded with LPG, collided off Kamarajar Port in Tamil Nadu. The oil from the spill has spread over 30 km along the coast, affecting marine life in the area.
Cases Registered Under Six Sections, Madras HC Refuses to Detain Tankers
Minjur police authorities in north Chennai have filed cases against the two tankers based on the report filed by the Kamarajar port authorities. Police have asked both the captains to submit their report.
Cases were registered under six sections, including charges of polluting the sea waters. The oil spill was around 34,000 square metres and the oil patches have to be removed manually, says ICG East region Inspector General Rajan Bargotra.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court has refused to detain the two oil tankers. When a PIL came up for hearing, Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice M Sundar said it was up to the Central and the state governments to take necessary action in the matter.
Chennai Oil Spill 10 Times Bigger Than Reported, Says Coast Guard IG S Paramesh
The magnitude of the oil spill is ten times more than what is being reported, said Coast Guard IG S Paramesh in a conversation with India Today. He said that the ships involved in collision tried to minimise the scale of the spill. He said,
The spill is 10 times than what was reported. Location of accident was 2 nautical miles from coastline. A Coast Guard team has been divided into small groups. 80 per cent of cleaning work has been completed at Marina Beach stretch. By tomorrow evening full stretch of Marina will be clearedCoast Guard IG S Paramesh in conversation with India Today
However, both Indian Coast Guard and Kamarajar Port declared the tanker ship MT Dawn Kanchipuram had underplayed the extent of the oil spilled, reports the India Today.
When the incident happened, we were informed at 5:15 am and told that about 2 metric tonnes of bunker oil had been spilt. However, our estimate is that 20 metric tonnes came out and the ship wasn’t being very truthful in its communication with us.
‘Required Action Will Be Taken Once Probe is Complete’: Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that almost 2,000 school children and NGOs have helped in the removal of oil sludge on the coast. He also said,
Incident will be enquired, committee set up and the required action will be taken once the probe is complete.Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan visited Ennore coast to inspect removal work of oil sludge and said that the work will be finished in one or two days.
Don't Blame Us, We Did All We Can, Says Kamarajar Port
The Chennai Karmarajar Port Limited claimed that it wasn’t right to blame the port for the oil spill as they took all measures possible after the accident. The Karmarajar Port Limited has said that there was no damage to the environment or casualties on the day of the accident.
In a statement, the port authorities said,
It may be noted that the Coast Guard was informed by KPL in time and their ships and helicopter arrived in the morning of 28 January and kept continuous watch. The spillage was noticed in the shores only after one-and-a-half days.
Centre Says Over 90% of Clean-Up Work Over
The Centre has said a total of 65 tonnes of sludge has been removed so far and over 90 per cent of the work completed. It also expressed confidence that the cleaning operation will be finished in a couple of days.
Among others, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was providing special bio-remediation material for treatment of the collected oil sludge for safe disposal.
The total quantity of sludge which was removed till 2 February was 65 tonnes. It is observed that there is a vast difference between quantity of oil spilt and sludge recovered due to the fact that the oil gets coagulated and becomes puffy when it is recovered with water and sand.Official Release
More Than 2,000 People Deployed in Clean-Up
A report given by Union Minister of State for Transport and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan in the Parliament states that more than 2,000 people were deployed in Thiruvallur, Chennai and Kanchipuram districts for cleaning up, reports The News Minute. The report says,
More than 80% of the work has been completed and most of the residual work is expected to be completed within two to three days.
(Sources: NDTV, India Today, The News Minute)
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