The team of divers deployed to check the wreckage and assess the amount of oil spillage happening from the tanks of sunk ship MV Rak Carrier began their operation on Thursday by identifying wreckages and marking them using three markers.
The divers could not get to the seabed where the ship rests because of unfavourable weather conditions.
The diving operation has been planned by the office of the Director General of Shipping with the aim of plugging the leakages in the tanks of the ship so that further oil spill can be stopped.
An Oil and Natural Gas Corporation diving support vessel has been stationed near the spot where the ship has sunk.
“Going to the bottom of the sea to check the extent of damage to the ship when the oil is still spilling from the tanks is a difficult task. Though the divers would be equipped with all kinds of gadgets, it’s a Herculean task in this rough weather,” said a marine expert.
Around 290 tonnes of fuel oil was there in the ship’s tank, 50 tonnes of diesel onboard and 60,000 tonnes of rock coal in its holds.
On Thursday, a review meeting was held by the DG Shipping with state and central government agencies to discuss further steps to combating the oil-spill and preventing it from spreading.
The oil-spill combat operations carried out by the Indian Coast Guard continued and the oil slick which had earlier spread up to 8km was found to have been reduced to 3km.
Coast Guard ships Samudra Prahari, Varuna and Kamla Devi carried out spraying of dispersants in areas where oil slick was spotted.
The Dornier aircraft carried out assessment over the area where the ship had sunk and areas near the coastline, and it was found that broken patches of oil were present in areas up to 8 nautical miles in the sea off the Mumbai coast.
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