Fishermen noticed oil on the sands of the Marina near Light House, Ashtalakshmi temple beach in Besant Nagar and also on Tiruvanmiyur beach on Wednesday morning.
But a search for the source drew a blank. Fishermen of Nettukuppam in Ennore said they saw oil floating on the sea near ships anchored on Tuesday.
Authorities at the Kamaraj Port said there was no leak inside their premises. D. Joseph of Nettukuppam said his neighbours, who had gone fishing, saw oil at 7.45 a.m.
On Wednesday, K. Bharathi of Nochikuppam, said he saw oil blobs that were around 3-4 inches wide in the morning. However, as the day progressed the size became smaller due to wave action. Chandru of Odaikuppam in Besant Nagar said that he saw small patches of oil washed ashore at 7 a.m., all the way upto Tiruvanmiyur.
Team to check
A team of scientists from the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) picked up samples at the Marina. “We will cross-check these with what we have collected earlier to find the type of oil. Every oil has its own markings,” explained Pravakar Mishra, a scientist with NCCR who leads a team of researchers studying water quality and sediments in various beaches.
His team has been measuring the total hydrocarbon content in the bottom sediment on a regular basis and after the previous oil spill, the quantum has increased.
‘Hypothetical’
“Our guess is that hydrocarbons accumulated in the seabed might have been churned out and washed ashore due to high winds and also due to the two earthquakes that occurred in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is completely hypothetical but there is a chance of such an occurrence,” he said.
However, another expert said that the oil would only further disintegrate due to wave action and shifting of the sands on the ocean bed and turn into sand-sized particles. “This has to be another oil spill,” he said.
