189 containers from MSC Chitra still to be found

On August 7, two merchant vessels, MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia, collided in the harbour, leading to a major oil spill. During investigations into the cause of the collision, the management of Chitra was asked to pay Rs3 crore as compensation.

Chitra was carrying a large number of containers, some with toxic material. Two of its tanks got damaged, letting out around 800 tons of oil into the sea. The oil slick spread far along the coastline.

Also, the falling containers posed a danger to navigation.
On Thursday, Chitra’s management gave a complete update on the clean-up and salvage operations being carried out by experts. It said that three high-priority areas have been identified for the operations: Elephanta island, Nhava island and Navy Nagar.

A team of divers, hi-tech survey and salvage equipment, tugboats, cranes and high pressure water jets are part of the operation, which Chitra officials claim were pressed into service on the second day of the accident.

Captain DK Tewari, CEO, MSC, said: “Experts from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF), oil pollution experts and salvage experts have been roped in along with local contractors and local labour, for the cleanup at Elephanta. Initially, we will remove oil on the 1km stretch along the coastline. Oil on rocks is being cleaned. Debris is being collected in plastic bags and dumped on government-approved sites.

“Earlier, the channel was being surveyed by navy officials, but since the end of August, it is being surveyed by a specialised survey boat hired by us to check the missing containers. There are only nine ecoscopes in the world, out of which three are in Mumbai and are being used for the purpose.”

The navigational channel and ferry routes have also been surveyed, but 189 containers are still said to be missing, which are suspected to have floated to distant locations or gotten submerged. Out of these, eight contain hazardous chemicals, and search for them is still on. The fishing route too has been surveyed, and is now open.

The number of containers to have been removed from Chitra is 111, but the ones inside the deck have not been removed as the vessel is still tilted. Fifty-one containers, among the ones which fell off the vessel, have been retrieved.

A total of 400 people have been put on the salvage operations. Also, Chitra has paid Rs1 crore as compensation to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

Chitra’s management has alleged that it was Khalijia which was at fault for the collision. It has also raised a question about why the ship was allowed to enter the city’s harbour when it was in a damaged condition.