Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday directed the Shipping Ministry to submit a report on the collision of two cargo ships off Mumbai's coast, resulting in an oil spill that could affect the eco-system in and along the Arabian Sea.
Without commenting on the report sought by Dr. Singh, Shipping Ministry Secretary K. Mohandas told The Hindu that Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar had summoned a meeting on Tuesday to review the situation, as the heavy spill from MSC Chitra had spread to some distance. The Cabinet Secretary will consequently send a report to the Prime Minister.
Mr. Mohandas said the situation was being monitored very closely and coordination meetings were being held twice a day with various agencies.
Out of the 2,662 tonne heavy oil fuel MSC Chitra's tanks were carrying, at least 400 tonne had spilled into the ocean. The Ministry was hoping that the leakage was only from one tank and that the other tanks were not damaged in MSC Chitra's collision with Merchant Vessel Khalijia-III.
A Singapore-based salvage agency is working to draw out the sinking vessel's oil through barges to contain further oil slick.
Mr. Mohandas hoped that normal navigation would be resumed in a couple of days, if not by Tuesday, soon after the channel is cleared of the 200 containers that fell off. Some containers had hit the sea bottom, while others were still floating.
Efforts were on to tow the floating containers to the shore and see if the sunken containers could be pulled out. Otherwise, buoys would be put on them to give an indication to the vessels approaching or leaving the channel. The sinking vessel would not pose any problem, as it was outside the anchorage. Water had entered the ship and salvaging it was not considered an easy option.
Shipping line closed
The shipping line stood closed for the third day on Monday affecting work at both the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and the Mumbai Port Trust. The Shipping Secretary maintained that prima facie the port authorities were not responsible for the collision, as the accident took place beyond the port and outside anchorage.
Usually port pilots guided the arriving and departing vessels. In the present case, the port pilots guided MSC Chitra out of the channel, and not boarded m.v. Khalijia as it had not entered the anchorage. The captains and crew of the two vessels were navigating their respective vessels when the collision took place in broad daylight.
Mr. Mohandas said the captains would be questioned to find out the cause of the collision, which was being investigated by the Directorate General of Shipping.
