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Time of India

No need to panic over fish safety after cargo vessel sank off Kochi coast: Experts

Kochi: Experts in the field of marine fisheries said there was no need to panic over the safety of consuming fish following a Liberian cargo vessel sinking off Kochi coast. V N Sanjeevan, professor chair at Centre of Excellence in Aquatic Resource Management and Conservation, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, said since it was a cargo ship and contained only 365 tonnes of oil and Coast Guard contained the spread of pollutants, there is no need to worry about consuming fish. "The panic over the safety of fish, created by newly founded media houses, is unfounded. We need to worry only when an oil tanker accident occurs and a major oil spill takes place since it carries over a lakh tonnes of oil. No such incident occurred here and the cargo vessel has only 365 tonnes of oil. The authorities contained the reported oil spill with the boom method and aerial spraying," he said. "The worry is that 13 containers that sank contain calcium carbonate, which is flammable when it comes in contact with water. Authorities are taking steps to retrieve these containers," he said.