ONGC divers to identify Rak leakage source

The vessel,called a saturation chamber,lowers a bell into the water with the divers inside. The plan is that the divers will locate the source of the leak and the salvage company,Titan Salvage,will remove the remaining oil. The leak may possibly be due to a split in the vessel or a vent hole in the oil tank,sources said. The divers will be mobilised by Thursday,subject to weather conditions,and the cost will be borne by the owners of the vessel.

Meanwhile,during the investigation of negligence on the part of the captain of MV Rak,the Yellow Gate police have learnt that the vessel had stopped midway in the sea to refill or remove fuel from its tank. Tanaji Ghadge,DCP,(Port) said they are inquiring about a boat that approached the vessel. “Some fuel was refilled in the vessel as far as we know. We are inquiring the matter,” he said.

The spill situation remained unchanged on Wednesday with oil leaking out at 0.5 tonnes per hour. But the oil spread from five to seven nautical miles due to increase in the speed of winds,said a DG statement. The Coast Guard,however,maintained that the situation is under control. New tar balls were reported at Juhu and Gorai. The insurance company has been asked by the DG to seek the expertise of the International Tanker Owner Pollution Federation on matters of survey of affected areas,clean-up and damage to marine life.

Even as the battle to contain the spill continued,the efforts undertaken to contain its effects on the shore failed to impress experts. “There are no clear-cut guidelines about what strategy has to be undertaken for shore clean-up after an oil spill. This came to light during the spill last August,but the authorities don’t seem to have been sensitised on the issue yet. Moreover,no standards exist for soil contamination and no threshold values have been set for pollution or other damage yet,” said Dr Banwari Lal,director,TERI.

Even though the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan delineates response for both at-sea and on-coast effect of spills,“there is a lack of coordination between the agencies involved”,said Gopal Krishna,convenor of Toxics Watch Alliance,an environment protection NGO.

The shore-clean up has been initiated but greens doubt its extent and success. “Will they ensure that the entire coast is cleaned? After the oil spill last year,we were promised that all the affected sites will be cleaned up,but the authorities didn’t manage to do so. I don’t see why this time will be any different,” said Sumaira Abdulali,convenor,Awaaz Foundation,another NGO working for the betterment of the environment. “They haven’t learnt anything from last year and there is no system in place even now,” she added.

The technology used to clean up the shore is either not effective or causes damage to the environment,Lal claimed. “Saw dust acts as an absorbent for the oil,but has its limitations and the process is laborious. Besides,dumping the remains in an incinerator may cause severe air pollution,” he said.

“They use whichever technology is available. There was enough time after the last incident to conduct tests and narrow down on a technology that works well on our type of coast conditions,but that hasn’t happened,” Abdulali said. Even at sea,the dispersants being used by the Coast Guard to contain the oil spill will transfer the problem from the surface to the sea bed. “The dispersants cause the oil to form balls,which sink to the sea bed as they are heavier than water. But it will damage corals and enter into the food chain,causing a health hazard. Unfortunately,there are no full-proof environment-friendly ways of dealing with spills in water,” said Lal.