Coast Guard initiates steps to contain oil spill from sunken ship
Three Indian Coast Guard (ICG) vessels Vikram, Saksham, and Samarth are relying on infrared cameras to detect the extent of the oil spill in the vicinity of the Liberian container ship MSC ELSA 3 that sank off the Kochi coast on Sunday morning.
They also utilised oil spill dispersant (OSD) to contain the spread of oil from the vessel that was carrying 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil when it sank.
These apart, a dedicated pollution control vessel is being mobilised from Mumbai to catalyse oil spill containment efforts, while a Dornier aircraft of the ICG equipped with specialised gear is positioned in Kochi for aerial assessment of the oil spill, says a defence release.
To ensure safety of other vessels, all ships through the route have been diverted, and mariners warned to navigate cautiously due to floating debris and potential navigation hazards. Two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) have been deployed on-site for round the clock monitoring, while pollution response vessel Samudra Prahari and additional OPVs have been mobilised with large quantities of OSD.
The vessel was carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide.
The Mercantile Marine department, Kochi, issued a pollution liability warning to the vessel owners MSC under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 while the MSC appointed T&T Salvage for container recovery, oil removal, and environmental clean-up.
The ICG also advised the State government to prepare for shoreline clean-up and alert local communities not to handle any cargo or debris that may wash ashore. In addition, ICG officials are in constant communication with government agencies concerned, in an advisory capacity, for shoreline clean-up operation, it is learnt.
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