Environmentalists warns,oil spillage from the ship could harm rare Olive Ridley sea turtles,

Environmentalists says that parts of the beach have turned black as oil carried by waves continues to come ashore.They also say that dead fish have been found on the coast near Paradip port.

But port authorities insist that there will not be a major spill because most of the oil is "semi-solid" and remains inside three sealed containers.
"If urgent steps are not taken by concerned agencies to empty the fuel tank of the capsized vessel, the oil spill may spread onto Gahirmatha beach, posing a serious threat to the mass nesting grounds of Olive Ridley sea turtles," environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty said.

"The turtles are likely to begin their mass nesting in the area by the end of this month.

"The sea waves in the region break from south to north, which will push the oil spill towards Gahirmatha beach. This may also cause high mortality among marine species including jelly fish and crabs. That in turn will lead to starvation among Olive Ridleys, who feed on them," Mr Mohanty said.

Gahirmatha sea beach is five nautical miles away from the spot where the ship ran into difficulties.

Orissa's state government has asked for help from central government, saying it is worried about the delay in salvaging the ship and the possibility of a serious oil spill.

The beaches of Orissa are one of the world's last nesting grounds for Olive Ridleys, which have been listed under the US Endangered Species Act.

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Paradip port considers legal action against the ship blackrose owner

 A lawsuit is likely to be filed against the owner of the ship that sank off Paradip port earlier this month for allegedly providing forged documents.port authorities found that the insurance certificate provided to the port by the ship officials was forged.

    Port came to know from the insurance company that the certificate number belongs to some other vessel. They (the officials of the sunken ship) forged somehow.Port is considering legal action against the ship owner. The port authorities are consulting maritime lawyers for a final decision.

paradip port invited bids to remove oil from ship sunk 'blakrose'

The tenders, which were floated Wednesday, invited two a technical bid and a price bid for the salvage and disposal of fuel oil from MV Black Rose, a senior port official told

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Odisha Pollution Control Board confirms oil spill

Paradip, Sept 22: The worst fear, it seems, is coming true. A team of experts from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board on Tuesday confirmed oil spill from the vessel that sunk off Paradip coast about a fortnight back. 

“We found visible presence of oil, that spilled that out of the vessel, along the sea waters,” said SPCB scientist D.K.Behera. He, however, refused to elaborate further. 

The suspected oil spill from the wreckage of the sunken Mongolian ship - MV Black Rose - has triggered apprehension of a major ecological and environmental damage along Odisha's Paradip coastline. 

Even though Paradip Port Trust officials allayed fears of oil spill, the ground realities tell altogether a different story. 

Pungent smell has filled the airs along the 12 km stretch long beach near Paradip. Bloated marine species mainly fishes are sporadically scattered along the beach. Layers of oily substances have made ingress into the sandy beach, according to eye witnesses. 

“Fishes are beginning to die. Thick oily layers are spread along the vast expanse of sea. Anybody could find visible presence of oil substances. No matter what the officials say, oil has spilled into the sea waters,” a group of marine fishermen said. 

“Of the 924 metric tonnes of oil reserve, 900 metric tonnes are inside double bottom tank and are fully secured. The said reserve is safe and intact. The minor spill is being traced to the 24 metric tonnes of grease oil stored inside the engine room,” said Deputy Chairman of PPT Biplab Kumar. 

PPT Pollution Response Tugs and Coast Guard vessels which are monitoring the area regularly traced escape of little amount of grease and diesel from the sunken vessel today. On thorough inspection it has been ascertained that the spill is from the service tank of the engine room and is negligible which does not pose any threat. Apart from the above, there is no oil spill,” said PPT officials. 

Incidentally, the ill-fated Mongolian vessel that had sunken on 9 September near the Paradip port had in it 924 MT furnace oil reserve. 

Almost a fortnight after the vessel capsizal, the oil reserve is yet to be pumped out. This apart, the sunken vessel was carrying enormous load of 23, 847 tonnes of iron ore fines. The delay in oil extraction exercise is being attributed to gross absence of infrastructure and expertise on part of PPT. 

Experts had earlier sounded caution on possible oil spill and its adverse impact on marine environment. The PPT authorities watched silently making little effort to evacuate the huge oil stock from the sunken vessel, alleged environment activists. 

Meanwhile, the port authorities have sought the assistance of national and international experts for early evacuation of existing oil reserve in the sunken ship. 

Incidentally, the sunken ship, owned by the Singapore-based Black Rose Maritime Shipping Ltd, did not have legal document or insurance papers. 

A two-member team of experts from state pollution control board today made an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. The SPCB experts are of the view that oil spill has posed threat to the local marine ecology. Still its impact is not on a larger scale. 

The site where the vessel capsized is very close to the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, one of the few remaining nesting sites for Olive Ridley turtles in the world. The turtles come to the site every year around this month for breeding. 



Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik asked the SPCB thoroughly inquire into the matter and take necessary measures in this regard.

The SPCB team had arrived in Paradip as per the orders of Patnaik. 

The Chief Minister had asked SPCB to look into the matter after media reports about the oil spill.
                                                      Kalinga times

Marine disaster in making

The oil spill generated from Monday by the sunken freighter owned by a Singapore-based firm has begun to wreak havoc in the Bay of Bengal. 

Thousands of dead fish have been washed ashore at Orissa’s Paradip port town, signaling the beginning of more damage and destruction in store as the slick had spread over 6 sq km on Monday. 

The ship sank on September 12 en route to an undisclosed destination in China with a cargo of 24,000 tonnes of iron ore.

“The oil slick is just 40 km from the Garimatha marine sanctuary where tens of thousands of Olive Ridley turtles congregate in winter, said Sushil Dutta, professor of zoology in North Orissa University.

“It will have a long-term impact on sharks, dolphins and other species. Fish are already dying. Other marine animals consuming these fish will also die,” he told HT.

“This is nesting time for the Olive Ridley turtles which travel to Garimatha from as far as Sri Lanka,” said a scientist with the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India. The oil has not reached the nesting site yet according to an initial assessment.

Concerned over the spill, the Union Ministry of Environment has sought a report from the Orissa government on the damage done to marine life.

India’s environment watchdog, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has asked its regional office to submit a report on the impact of oil spill on marine life near the Paradip port at the earliest.

“An oil spills causes the death of fish as it cuts oxygen flow into the water,” CPCB chairman S.P. Gautam told HT in New Delhi on Monday. “Mortality will depend on how much oil has degraded. Depending on the bacteria in the area, oil degrades in four to 10 days.”

Western countries use chemicals and genetically modified (GM) bacteria to degrade large oil spills in the sea to minimise damage to marine life.

The Department of Science and Technology recently initiated a pilot project to detect oil spills using satellite data and thereafter alert agencies about their exact locations.

Though the spill has been reported from the area where the sunken ship is currently located, the Paradip port authorities refused to confirm that the spillage was from the Black Rose. “The exact area affected by the oil slick is yet to be ascertained,” said a port trust official who did not want to be named.
                                       HindustanTimes

Paradip Port launches clean-up drive

The Paradip Port in Orissa Monday launched a drive along its coast to contain possible environmental damage from a Mongolian ship that sank off the coast Sep 9.

The vessel MV Black Rose, carrying about 25,000 tonnes of iron ore fines and 900 tonnes of oil, capsized in Bay of Bengal, five km off the Paradip coast.

'We verified the reports about oil spill. There is a negligible amount of oil spilled into the sea. It could have been from other vessels too. We have launched a cleaning drive along the coast,' said Biplab Kumar, deputy chairman of Paradip Port.

'We have deployed tug boats. We have our special machines to contain the oil leakage. We are closely monitoring the situation,' he added.

The site where the vessel capsized is very close to the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, one of the few remaining nesting sites for Olive Ridley turtles in the world. The turtles come to the site every year around this month for breeding.

Ship oil spill threatens Paradip ecology

The shadow of an ecological disaster loomed over Paradip on Monday after oil started leaking from a sunken Mongolian ship. Environmentalists said a part of the spill was moving towards the shore, posing a threat to the bio-diversity hotspot.
“The region is home to the world’s largest rookery of the endangered Olive Riddle turtles and a large number of marine species. An undetermined amount of oil has leaked into the water and this could lead to an incurable ecological disaster,” said Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist. “If the oil accumulates in the bottom sediments along the shore, Paradip may face its first environmental crisis.”
Paradip Port Trust (PPT) officials played down such fears. “There’s no immediate risk. It was a minor leak due to discharge of lubricants and other oils from the sunken ship. But the furnace and diesel tanks are intact. There should not be any worry of a disaster unless the ship splits in two, and we don’t see why this should happen,” said PPT deputy conservator G P Biswal. “Our oil recovery ships are equipped to deal with an oil spill and therefore there is no immediate risk to the ecology.”
Officials said the State Pollution Control Board was working with the Coast Guard and PPT to arrest the spill. An environment expert from the board, Dilip Kumar Behera, and other scientists are also at the scene. Coast Guard officials have also stepped up surveillance and are ready to spray dispersants on the spill.


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