Online Paradeep: oil spil

Showing posts with label oil spil. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Central team reached Paradip and inspected the capsized ship

Following reports of minor oil spills, a five-member team of the central shipping ministry Saturday reached Paradip port and inspected the ship that sank off its coast earlier last month.

The team includes P.V.K Mohan, director general of shipping, and Srinivas Nair, director general of port operations.

The decision to dispatch the team of experts was taken by the shipping ministry after Paradip Port authorities sought its intervention following reports of oil spill from the ship that could pose a danger to marine life.

MV Black Rose, a Mongolian registered vessel, sank Sep 9 with 924 tonnes of furnace oil on board. The port authorities have said 900 tonnes of the oil -- in semi-solid state -- is still inside the ship, but there have been small spills. Pollution control authorities have reported patches of oil on the coast three to four kilometres away.

Apart from the 924 tonnes of furnace oil, the sunken ship was carrying about 25,000 tonnes of iron ore fines. Twenty seven crew members were on board. All but a Ukrainian engineer, whose body was found 10 days later, were rescued.

The Paradip Port Trust has not been able to retrieve the oil and has invited bids to pump out oil from the ship. The Wildlife Society of Orissa has expressed concern that delay in removing the oil could harm the breeding ground of Olive Ridley turtles nearby.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

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.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

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

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.