Mumbai:
Another oil spill is threatening the fragile ecology of the Mumbai coastline. MV Rak, the vessel that sank off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday, is leaking oil.
The oil from the ship had spread up to seven nautical miles from the vessel. But defence officials have now said that the rate of oil spill has reduced to approximately one tonne per hour.
Oil slick around the source of the spill has also reduced compared to Monday and oil slick is visibly thin. The leak has occurred due to the ingress of water in the cargo hull, officials said. The ship was carrying tonnes of oil and coal.
"Since last night, oil has been observed leaking from the sunken vessel Rak Carrier at an approximate rate of 1.5 to 2 tonnes per hour. The oil has spread about seven nautical miles around the vessel," a Defence press release said.
The Coast Guard has deployed two ships, including its anti-pollution vessel INS Samudra Prahari, which are neutralising the oil spill by spraying chemicals that binds the oil and prevents it from spreading. However, there are no visible traces of the oil spill.
The Coast Guard says the oil spill is due to some other localised reason, and not traced to Rak Carrier. A lab analysis is being conducted to determine the source of oil.
The oil pollution is mainly confined to area north of Asha Parekh building to Sea Prince hotel.
"It is quite close to the shoreline and there is not much distance separating the oil from the beaches and mangroves. Since this is the breeding season, this is the most vulnerable time of the year," said Debi Goenka, an environmentalist.
The government, however, says that the spillage is negligible and that there is no threat to Mumbai coast. Oil leak has been limited to the area near the sunken vessel and there is no need to worry, the authorities said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) says it has initiated the measures to clean up the area.
Earlier there were fears about whether the grounded ship MT Pavit was leaking oil but authorities have clarified that there is no oil spillage from Pavit. The Pavit was abandoned near Oman about a month ago after serious technical issues with its engines. It then drifted into the Arabian Sea and entered India's exclusive economic zone which extends 200 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast.
Last August, after MSC Chitra and MV Khalija collided off the Mumbai coast, the oil spill spread not just to the coast of Mumbai, but as far as Raigad and Elephanta, damaging the mangrove belt in and around Mumbai city, contaminating shores, and even threatening fishing activity.
"When the oil sinks, it enters into the food chain. The algae imbibe the oil and that may affect the entire marine ecology," said Swapna Prabhu, from Bombay Natural History Society.
This time too, fishermen have been advised to stay away from the area where the ship has sunk.
MV Rak sank off the coast of Mumbai on Thursday, with 60,000 metric tonnes of coal, 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 tonnes of diesel on board.
Salvage operations will be difficult to undertake due to the rough weather and tidal conditions because of the monsoons. This means, Mumbai will have to keep its fingers crossed, hoping the oil lead is kept at bay and the vessel stays intact.