Foreign experts have been called in to limit the damage of the oil spill triggered by Saturday's collision between two cargo ships off Mumbai
harbour as the leakage spread to new areas posing a major ecological threat to the city coastline.
As the Coast Guard and defence personnel waged a grim battle to plug the leak caused by the oil slick, Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has appointed SMIT Salvage, a Netherlands-based
company, to control the spill, a senior port official said.
"We have appointed SMIT Salvage to tackle the oil-spill. The company is working there with 11 off-shore vessels out of which six are from Mumbai-based Great Offshore Limited," the official said.
Another team of experts in handling maritime disasters has arrived from Singapore to assist in the salvage operations.
Two Panamanian cargo ships -- MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia-111 -- collided on Saturday off the Mumbai coast causing an oil spill from one of the vessels.
Thirty three crew members, including two Pakistanis, were rescued following the incident.
The Navy and the Coast Guards carried out
anti-pollution operations for the third consecutive day on Monday to check and neutralise the oil spill.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said the ship contained around 2,600 metric tonnes of oil. "It is believed that around 500 MT must have spilled over."
S S Dasila, Commandant (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) of Coast Guard said the oil spill posed a serious danger to maritime fauna and flora.
"MSC Chitra has tilted 80 degrees," Arun Singh, Commandant (Operations), Coast Guard told PTI.
He said so far, 300 of the 1,200 containers on the ship have tumbled into the water.
There could be much more serious ecological implications of the accident as containers aboard MSC Chitra,which has run aground and is tilting precariously, are falling
off into the sea.
At least 31 containers with hazardous chemicals including organo-phosphorous pesticides, sodium hydrochloride and pyrethroid pesticides are on board and quite a few of them
might have tumbled into the sea and their contents leaked, he said.
He said the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre authorities have been asked not to use sea water for cooling purposes at the premier atomic establishment.
Coastal districts of Maharashtra have been
put on alert as the oil slick has spread to the Alibaug and Uran areas, and also close to Elephanta caves amid concerns that it may also damage the rich mangrove belt along the coastline.
The Navy and the Coast Guard personnel carried out anti-pollution operations for the third consecutive day today to check and neutralise the oil spill.
The Chief Minister, who undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas, voiced serious concern over the oil spill and its consequences.
"This (oil spill) is a serious issue. The Coast Guard, defence people are looking into it. We have already filed cases against captains of the ships," Chavan said.
With the oil slick posing threat to the marine life, he advised people against fishing in the affected areas.
"Things are not fully under control, that is why we are worried about it. Fishing in that area and consumption of fish should be avoided," he said.
Asked if the Mumbai port congestion was the reason for the collision, Chavan said, "I can't say so at the moment, till the exact reason (for the collision) is established."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sought a report from The Shipping Ministry on the incident, a PMO official said in Delhi.
The issue also came up in the Rajya Sabha where Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said legal action had been initiated against the owners of the two ships.
Maharashtra Transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who reviewed the situation with the agencies involved in the operations, said Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Mumbai Port Trust have to improve their functioning.
"JNPT and Mumbai Port Trust have to pull up their `socks. This is a wake up call for them," the minister told reporters at the Coast Guard headquarters at Worli.
According to Directorate General of Shipping's Chief Nautical Advisor M M Saggi, the anti-pollution operations by the Coast Guard are on in full swing.
Six coastguard vessels and a helicopter with anti-pollution dispersal spray systems have been pressed into service to contain the oil spill.
Operations at the Mumbai harbour have been badly hit as large adrift containers pose major navigational hazard.
"Traffic has been restricted at both at JNPT and MbPT as the containers are afloat in various channels making navigation hazardous," a Coast Guard official said.
Deputy police commissioner Khaled Qaiser said that an FIR has been registered against captains and crew members of both the cargo ships under relevant sections of IPC and Environment Protection Act at the Yellow Gate police station.
The crew members were booked under section 280 (Rash navigation of vessel), 336 (endangering life of others) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of IPC and relevant sections of
Environment Protection Act, he said.