Minister pegs oil spill loss at Rs 120 cr
CHENNAI: The loss due to oil spill following the collision between British flagship vessel B W Maple and Indian flagship vessel M T Dawn Kancheepuram on January 28 has been pegged at `120 crore by Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar. However, experts feel it is quite less and a proper assessment needs to be done by various research agencies to ascertain the actual damage.
“Officially, the figure cited by the minister can’t be taken into account as the State has to submit a routine format giving out details to prove the loss,” said Director-General of Shipping Malini V Shankar.
M A Bhaskarachar, Kamarajar Port chairman, said that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board would assess and estimate the damage caused to the environment and fishermen by appointing an expert.
This comes after P&I insurers of M T Dawn Kancheepuram (Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited) established a ‘claims desk’ at Crowe Boda and Company Private Limited in MLM Building on Wallajah Road. “They have to contact Captain S Prabhakaran, deputy general manager, on 044-28555412 or email sivanesan@jbbbbodamail.com,” said Malini.
Talking to Express, Dr S Felix, dean, Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI), affiliated to Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, said the environmental loss due to the oil spill could only be evaluated by a thorough study by several institutes, both State and Central. “A separate vessel should be provided to scientists to earmark the extent of damage due to oil spill. This should include the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Central Marine Fisheries Institute, state Fisheries Department and Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management Project Directorate (ICMAM) and various other institutes,” he said.
Felix said his institute did undertake a research and found that planktons and microbes were affected due to the spill. However, he ruled out fish being affected. “They tend to escape the pollution and the impact will be on their bodies for 10 to 12 days. The sedentary organisms like crabs, mussels, oysters may be affected,” he said. He said the study should look into the long-term impact on environment. The use of 2,700 litres of oil spill dispersant (OSD), which is also a pollutant, by the Indian Coast Guard should also be studied.
To a query why such a hurry to settle the claims when the investigation is still going on, Malini said that it was being done so that one should not face the delay in handing over compensation.
Meanwhile, a petition has been filed by the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi by advocate P Somasundaram seeking steps to claim compensation in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation’s International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 and also under IMO’s International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution, Damage, 1992.