Any loss to marine life will be ascertained by the National Institute of Oceanography.
Last year another ship, an oil spill from the MSC Chitra destroyed the entire batch of mangrove regeneration seeds.
The MV Rak oil spill threatens to do the same.
But Union Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan underplayed the incident and claimed that “there is no cause for concern”.
“The situation is being reviewed and if any action is required, the ministry will take... but as of now, there is nothing to be concerned (about). I have asked local pollution control board to take samples to identify the oil content and the source. So far, there is no cause for concern,” Natarajan told reporters here.
She added that the coast guard has sprayed 600 litres of aerosol to disperse the spill and action is being taken to reduce the damage.
Last August, merchant ships MS Chitra and MV Khalija collided at the mouth of Mumbai harbour leading to a major oil spill.
“The spill caused by MSC Chitra destroyed the entire batch of mangrove regeneration seeds,” said Deepak Apte, deputy director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
And while it’s too early to assess the extent of the damage of MV Rak oil spill, Apte, who along with his team at BNHS has been studying oil spills, said it certainly doesn’t look good.
Asked about lessons from last year’s spill, Apte said: “There were no mechanisms in place last year. There were talks of ‘tier 1 oil containment facilities’ in place. But it looks little has been learnt.”
Ashish Fernandes, ocean campaigner for international environment NGO Greenpeace, also slammed the authorities.
“Accountability is nil. Spills will keep happening until the regulatory mechanism is tightened. If the cargo were oil, we would have a disaster on our hands, but this needs to be treated as a warning sign.”
Natarajan said they have sought a report on the oil spill. The chairman of Central Pollution Control Board was asked to immediately proceed to Mumbai and coordinate with authorities.
“According to the state government, the spill on the Juhu coast is a localised phenomenon due to reasons other than the MV Rak spill,” said Natarajan.
But Apte reacted sharply to this. “None of the agencies know the source of the oil on Juhu beach. How can this be? Where has the oil come from?” he asked.
Any loss to marine life will be ascertained by the National Institute of Oceanography.
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