As many as 750 persons, including Coast Guard personnel and volunteers from various departments, were engaged in the physical removal of sludge
Five days after an oil tanker and an LPG tanker collided off the Kamarajar Port Ltd (KPL) at Ennore resulting in an oil leak, the fast spreading oil spill threatens to affect the coastal environment and livelihood of fishermen.
KPL has ordered an inquiry by marine expert Captain Subhash Kumar, whose report is expected in a week. In a statement, it also said that the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management has been appointed to study the impact on environment.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard, which is spearheading the clean-up operation, continued manual scooping out of the sludge, using buckets, as mechanical equipment went non-operational.
"In the last four days, we have manually removed 65 tonnes of sludge and another 54 tonnes of oil and water by using super sucker vacuum trucks. The sucker machines are very ineffective," Coast Guard Commandant Pradeep B Mandal told DNA. He noted that about 80 per cent of the cleaning work was completed and expected to finish it in a day or two at Eranavur near Ennore.
Apart from the main hotspot at Ernavur, seven more were identified by the Coast Guard. As many as 750 persons, including Coast Guard personnel and volunteers from various departments, were engaged in the physical removal of sludge.
The Coast Guard has estimated over 20 tonnes of oil spill from the ship as against the initial estimate of one tonne. "There is a vast difference between the quantity of the oil spilt and the sludge recovered since the oil gets coagulated and becomes puffy when it is recovered along with water and sand stored in drums," KPL said in a statement on Thursday evening.
City-based environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman blamed the KPL management. "Oil spill could have been easily contained if the port management had given correct information. They lied about the quantity of the leak and that led to the current disaster," he said.
K Bharathi, president of South Indian Fishermen's Welfare Association, said: "The oil spill has spread up to five nautical miles in the sea affecting all marine species and fishes and ma ny Olive Ridley turtles were washed ashore dead," he said.
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