Terming the whole disaster a “freak accident”, Ramesh said “we have been confronted with a new situation, lessons have to be learnt and a system will be put in place to combat such pollution.”
The state environment department, along with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), have sought legal consultation to claim damages from the two shipping companies whose vessels collided, causing an oil spill off the Mumbai coast, Union Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said at a media briefing in the city Saturday.
Terming the whole disaster a “freak accident”, Ramesh said “we have been confronted with a new situation, lessons have to be learnt and a system will be put in place to combat such pollution.”
“In terms of location (off Mumbai coast), timing (during southwest monsoon) and quantity (2,000 tonnes of fuel oil), the country hasn’t ever seen such an oil spill till date,” Ramesh said.
Speaking on the Navi Mumbai Airport issue, he said that it could be partially resolved by August 18, as the Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) will be meeting to discuss the answers from CIDCO on the major environmental issues.
He added that the country will lose out on considerable funds it could have claimed as liability as it is not yet a part of the Bunker convention of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a specialised agency of the UN which establishes compensation and liability issues. “The Directorate General of Shipping will be co-ordinating to tie up with the IMO for future cases,” Ramesh said.
The minister along with the Maharashtra environment minister Suresh Shetty, inspected the coastline near Elephanta Island and held review meetings with the various agencies.
Ramesh further added that the environment ministry has appointed the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to undertake an environment damage assessment of the oil spill.
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFI) has also been asked to submit a report on the loss of fishermen’s livelihood. “Only after this report will we be able to compensate the fishermen,” he said.
The preliminary assessment report will be available within 10-15 days, while the detailed assessment will be available after three months. Furthermore, the union minister and state minister had consulted experts from London as well as India on the damage control measures to be taken to save the coastline.
“The experts suggest that minimal human interference should be made in the regeneration of the marine ecology. There is no other option than to let them regenerate naturally. Regarding beaches, the state government has deputed a team of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to conduct bio-remedial operations on the stretches of beach affected by the oil spill,” Ramesh said.
The minister further expressed concern over the extent of damage caused due to 2000 tonnes of furnace oil in the sea. “Fuel oil is more dangerous than crude oil as it does not vapourise. The impact on marine life like pohmphrets, crabs, sardines, lobsters is huge,” he said. He further trashed allegations of conspiracy in the oil spill.
“It was a freak accident and no conspiracy was involved. We do not know how much damage has been caused by the oil spill in the environment around the Navi Mumbai airport site, but there is no conspiracy,” he reiterated.
When questioned about the 31 containers with hazardous chemicals, the minister said, “Around 250 containers fell off the ship during the collision. About 83 have been physically located and accounted for. However, 160 containers are not yet located.
There were also 7 containers of pesticide and one container was spotted along the coast. The remaining 6 are still on the ship and will be removed during salvage operations.” Normal port operations will be restored after the Chief Hydrographer gives the go-ahead after one week.
The minister further added that the MpBT and JNPT will both be tier 1 compliant within eight months. “We have started the process and are hoping that all major ports, especially those handling petroleum products will become tier 1 compliant,” Ramesh said.
According to him, within a year, an online system will be put in place which will have a detailed background of the 15,000 ships entering Indian ports. “This way, we will have an idea about the age of the ships. Random checks will be made on ships less than 25 years old and systematic checks will be made on ships older than 25 years,” he said.
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