Twelve days after cyclone Tauktae wreaked havoc in and around the ONGC’s Mumbai High oil fields as it passed to Gujarat, oil spill has been reported by local fishermen along the Palghar coast in Maharashtra, from one of the barges that ran aground.
Having noticed the oil spill around GAL Constructor that got stuck in the rocky shores of Vadrai, the local fishermen have reported the matter to the Satpati coastal police station.
Vadrai Machimar Sarvodaya Society chairman and a member of Maharashtra Machhimar Kruti Samiti Manendra Arekar, has flagged the issue, said: “We estimate that is at least 80,000 litres of diesel, besides large quantities of lubricants and grease on board the barge. It is 12 days since the barge ran aground, no agency concerned has turned up here to remove diesel and oil board the barrage. As a result, diesel and oil are leaking in a big way from the barrage into the sea. We have already noticed an oil spill in the water around the stranded barrage. We anticipate a big ecological problem in the days to come.”
Till July 31, the Maharashtra government has imposed a ban on fishing in the area, because of the south west monsoon As a consequence a lot of fishermen depend on fishing in the water along the shores.
“Already some people have started complaining about the smell in the fish that we catch along the shore. Before long, the oil spill will affect the fish in the area. If no steps are taken to address the oil spill issue, the livelihoods of fishermen in the area will be severely affected. Hence, I appeal to the state government and other authorities to remove diesel and oil on board the barge immediately and also do something about the oil spill in the area,” Arekar said.
On their part, the local fishermen have already reported the matter to the Satpati coast police station which has in turn reached out to the contractors and owners of the barge for containment oil spill in the area.
In a related development, reacting to the concerns expressed by the local fishermen about the oil spill in their area, the Indian Coast Guard said that the barge was carrying 78,000 litres of "high flash high speed diesel" and not crude oil.
"No breach of the oil tank is reported... Afcons Infrastructure Ltd has arranged M/s Seacare which has laid a 400 mts boom around the barge while M/s Shree Krishna is undertaking hull repairs. Besides, M/s Smith & Coy has been hired for removal of the vessel, “ the ICG said.
The ICG said that its Guard helicopters had reported "silvery oil sheen" of 50 meters width. "No oil spill has been reported on shore now and continuous liaison has been maintained with agent of GAL Constructor," an ICG spokesperson said
“Sorbent pads have been laid along the boom. It will be recovered with binge oil with the help of fishing boats," the spokesperson said.
Of the total 350 floating and fixed assets in the Mumbai High region, five were affected in the cyclone that passed the Maharashtra coast on May 17. The five floating vessels comprised Papaa-305, n accommodation barge with 261 persons on board, GAL Constructor barge with 176 persons on board, its anchor handling vessel Varaprada with 13 persons on board, drill ship Sagar Bhushan with 101 persons on board and construction barge Support Station with 202 persons on board.
A total of 714 persons were on board these vessels of which 628 were saved while 86 lost their lives.
The deceased oil workers were from Papaa-305 and Varaprada.
All those on board the GAL Constructor were rescued by Indian Navy and Coast Guard.
