CHENNAI: Absence of a Comprehensive Oil Spill Management Plan, despite being in the works for about three years, lack of equipment to deal with oil spills near the shore, the foreign ship heading out of an unfamiliar port in pitch darkness without a pilot to guide the vessel as is mandatory, and lack of clarity about the actual nature and quantum of the polluting sludge – the evolving environmental disaster may have begun with an accident, but the struggle to contain it even after six days reveals the abject lack of even basic plans.
After coming up with National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan and Preparedness way back in 1995, the Indian Coast Guard had asked all coastal states to prepare a shoreline response to oil spill. Most recently, this was discussed during its 21st meeting in Delhi last August, and also during the 86th and 87th meetings of the State Coastal Zone Management Authority that was convened on August 30, 2015 and January 14, 2016 respectively.
Formal communications were sent to all the ports and the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board to draw up a contingency plans for ports (letter No.P1/2068/2015 dated Sept 19, 2015).
However, a plan is yet to be drawn up, which, experts allege, is the reason why the agencies are floundering in clearing the thick coat of oil that is rapidly spreading across beaches after British-flagged BW Maple collided with Indian vessel MT Dawn Kancheepuram on Saturday.
Top officials at Kamarajar Port, Ennore, and Chennai Port admitted that a comprehensive plan was yet to be worked out, but claimed they had their own contingency plan in place. The latter added that they had the necessary equipment which have been leased to the Coast Guard for containment work.
However, the entire clean up is being done manually – with mugs, buckets and large tanks to store the sludge – as the available equipment is meant for clearing oil spill in deep seas. “Since it cannot be used on the shores, we have literally been mopping the shore,” said a Coast Guard officer.
Another crucial lacunae, which proved costly in hindsight, was the absence of a pilot to guide BW Maple in the port channel. Pilots are hired to guide vessels to the berths and out into the sea, as they are aware about the contours of the port.
In this case, however, the pilot disembarked much before the designated place after the ship’s master asked him to, confirmed a top official at Kamarajar Port. “The master of the ship is in command of vessel and the pilot has to take his orders,” the official added.