Fishermen are objecting to the release of MV BW Maple , one of the ships involved in a collision near the Kamarajar port in January. The ship was impounded after the resultant oil spill at the port.
The insurers of the ship provided a bank guarantee to the Merchantile Marine Department, which has said that the Directorate had no objection to its sailing, said Nanjil Ravi, working president, Akila Indhiya Meenavar Sangam. He said that the ship should not be allowed to set sail before the payment of the compensation due to fishermen for their loss of livelihood after the oil spill, and for the damage to the marine environment.
Fish landings decline
He said that in the last nine months, fish landings at the Kasimedu fishing harbour had come down to 20-30% and the losses incurred by fishermen came up to over ₹900 crore.
Sangam general secretary M.E. Raja said the ship MV Dawn Kanchipuram had over 29,140 tonnes of oil all of which had spilt into the sea. “It was not a small oil tanker. In Florida in the United States, after a spill in 2010, it was estimated that fishing would be affected for five years and damages were claimed on the behalf of the fishermen, who lost their livelihood and also for setting right environmental damage,” he explained.
Indian Fishermen's Association’s M.D. Dayalan said many official agencies involved in the clean-up were yet to get compensation for their work. Since the incident occurred inside the 12 nautical mile limit, the State should have taken a more proactive role, he added.
Sources in the Fisheries Department said a claim of ₹203 crore had been submitted to the insurance company. More claims were coming in and the total could go up to ₹240 crore, the sources said.
