The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is on alert after an oil spill was reported from a Haldia-bound Portuguese flag container ship.
ICG had received information from Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo on Wednesday night about a mid-sea oil spill, about 450 kms south east of Chennai. On further investigation, it was revealed that a Portuguese flag container ship MV Devon, on passage from Colombo to Haldia, West Bengal, has developed an underwater crack in the fuel tank containing about 120 KL of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).
The crack resulted in spillage of about 10 KL of oil into the sea before preventive action was taken and remaining oil in tank was transferred to another tank by the ship’s crew. The vessel is carrying 10,795 tonnes of general cargo in 382 containers and manned by a 17-member crew. The ship is continuing its voyage to Haldia and is likely to reach later today.
The ICG is in continuous contact with MV Devon and the master has reported that the vessel is stable. ICG Pollution response team at Chennai has been alerted and kept on standby. In addition, ICG ships and aircraft deployed at sea are also put on alert in pollution response configuration.
Environmentalists and authorities in the region are already worried about the extent of environmental damage Singapore-flagged vessel X-Press Pearl, which sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka recently, has caused.
It has been reported that the fire and the sinking of the ship has already caused bodies of marine animals to wash up on Sri Lankan beaches.
Also Read: Numerous agencies join X-Press Pearl probe as Sri Lanka battles ecological impact
