Goa oil spill spreads to Karwar, Deobag

PANAJI: Oil spilled from a merchant vessel off-Karwar coast in Arabian Sea has spread Karwar and Deobag coasts in Karnataka and the spill is moving towards Goa even as Coast Guard battled rough weather and poor visibility to tackle the problem, officials said.

"We have geared up our machinery to tackle the menace if the spill touches Goa coast. We have received information that it is moving towards Goa," L U Joshi, Chairman, Goa Pollution Control Board said.

Karwar district administration officials confirmed that the westernly waves is forcing the spillage towards Goa. "It has reached Majali coast which is bordering Goa-Karnataka," an official said.

He said that after receiving information from the Karwar district authorities, Coast Guard have been alerted.

Ocean Seraya, a Singapore-registered vessel had hit the rocks on Monday night due to rough weather and next day the spill was reported from the stranded ship.

Coast Guard swung into action to disintegrate the spill using chemical and dispersants.

"A Chetak helicopter, a Dornier aircraft and a vessel are already in action since 8:30 am they are spraying dispersants so that the oil is disintegrated and residue can be turned into tar balls," Commander R M Sharma, Deputy Inspector General, Coast Guard said.

Quoting reports from the crew which is operating off Karwar coast, he said the spill has reached Goa-Karnataka coast.

"It is yet to reach to the river which is bordering both the states," he said.