Chennai oil spill is double than estimated

An initial assessment by Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) of two ships involved in the collision near Kamarajar Port (formerly Ennore Port) -- BW Maple and Dawn Kanchipuram -- has revealed that there is heavy damage to Dawn Kanchipuram and there is also a possibility of oil spill to be over 40 tonne instead of the earlier reported 20 tonne.

Malini Shankar, director general of shipping, told DNA Money that there is heavy damage to Dawn Kanchipuram. "The entire ship will have to be emptied to ascertain exactly how much oil has leaked. Without it, the total oil spill cannot be quantified," she said. The spill is at least 40 tonne and not 20 tonne as believed earlier, she said.

The process to transfer petroleum, oil & lubricant (POL) items out of the tanker will commence shortly.

Earlier, the Coast Guard had said that the spillage is around 20 tonne.

Speaking about the technical details of the initial inspection, Shankar said, "The ship management company did not realise that the second tank and even the central tank have got ruptured. In fact, even the overflow tank is leaking."

Though the inquiry by DGS is still underway, as per the Merchant Shipping Act, irrespective of whosoever is at fault, the compensation will have to be borne by the ship that has spilt oil. Therefore, the Indian-flagged vessel Dawn Kanchipuram will foot the bill.

The compensation claims will also be governed by the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation. A claim's office by the Protection and Indemnity insurance (P&I) company has been set up at Chennai on Sunday.

"P&I company will process the claims and expenditure incurred by the government and public agencies for oil pollution clean-up exercise. Secondly, civil liabilities is another aspect too, wherein the fishermen co-operative society will gather claims along with the local fisheries institute," said Shankar.

As on Monday evening, over 90% of the clean-up is through and it will take a couple of days to call off the anti-pollution exercise. At the time of the incident during the early hours of January 28, Dawn Kanchipuram was carrying 45,000 tonne of petroleum products.