Oil’s not well, say alarmed citizens

Slick Nearing Raigad District, Clean-Up Could Take A Month

The authorities claimed on Monday that the oil scare had passed. Coast Guard IG S P S Basra said, "As far as the oil spill is concerned, things are under control.'' The police and Raigad collectorate officials also denied the district was affected, but locals of some of coastal villages in Alibaug taluka, Raigad district, claimed to have spotted signs of the oil spill reaching their shores on Monday.
    Alibaug-based environmentalist, Surendra Waman Dhawale, of the Shambhuraje Yuva Kranti group, told TOI: "Till Monday evening there was no serious sign of the oil coming towards our coast. However, we have reports from local fishermen in Awas, Mandwa and Kihim villages that small oil patches were seen on these beaches.'' But Raigad collector Subhash Sonawane asserted, "We are keeping a close watch on the Raigad beaches, but there is no sight of the floating fuel oil here,'' he said. Mahindra Dalvi, of Thal Gram Panchayat in Alibaug taluka, informed: "Our fishermen have been told not to go out in the sea to fish, while consumers have been advised not to eat it, as it may be contaminated. This has further affected the income of the locals.''
    The chief manager (operations) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) S N Maharana, informed that of the 1219 containers on the stricken ship, 31 were filled with chemicals. However, various agencies are working round-the-clock to ensure that there is no chemical leakage from the epicentre of the accident site in the sea. About 512 containers were on the ship's deck and the rest in the hold. The hold, said environment minister Suresh Shetty, was still intact.
    Neutralising the spilled oil before it reaches the mangroves and the sea-coast; removing containers floating or lodged on the rocky seabed are the two priorities before the government. The entire clean-up operation could take a month. "The priority is to ensure the spill does not reach either the mangroves or the coast,'' Shetty added.
    Tehsildars in all the coastal areas in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad district right from Raj Bhavan to Rewas-Mandwa, have been asked to collect water samples and test them for oil. "If oil is found in any place then the protocol that has been set to tackle the spill will be set into motion,'' said Shetty adding the Coast Guard was in charge of neutralising the oil spill. The Chitra has tilted 75 degrees and is resting on rocks, making entry into the ship difficult.
    Technicians of Smith Salvage Company, the official salvagers of M S Chitra had arrived on Sunday from Singapore and they would concentrate on removing the containers from the hold.
    J S Saharia, chief, disaster management, said the collision between the two cargo ships M S Chitra and M V Khalija occurred because of a miscommunication between the Vessel Traffic Management System (that guides ships to and from the harbour) and the two ships.
    Meanwhile a 45-year-old constable attached to Mumbai's Marine police drowned in the Arabian Sea after he fell off a speed boat near the shore. Ramesh Tukaram More and four other policemen were posted near Ghadyal dock. "On Monday morning, More's colleagues reported he was missing,'' said Quaiser Khalid, DCP (port zone). Divers later found his body around 2.30 pm, he added. His body has been sent for post-mortem.
Expert speak
A senior ONGC officer says the best way to deal with an oil spill is to neutralise it with chemical dispersants like acids (hydrofluoric), phosphorus compounds, acidic and caustic gases, and organic compounds One At A Time
Clearing navigational channels of the containers is first priority
This will be done using a crane, which will lift containers to a barge, and they will be taken to JNPT
There are nearly 500 containers at sea, 11 near Raigad
Oil from the ship will have to drained out next
Finally, the ship will be towed away by tugs
Salvagers have flown in experts from Rotterdam with booms to control the oil slick, but Coast Guard officials said it was not just enough as slick has spread
Main channels of JNPT and MbPT have been closed down
MbPT is allowing only small vessels
MbPT chairperson Rahul Asthana said it will take two days before the port can be opened for operations
Chief of staff of western naval command, vice-admiral Pradeep Chauhan said helicopters and ships are searching for containers that have sunk. Even the Port Trust has hired sonar-equipped boats
Global Remedies
Bioremediation | Micro-organisms or biological agents are used to break down or remove oil Controlled Burning | It can only be done in low wind, and causes air pollution Dispersants | They cluster around oil globules and allow them to be carried away in the water Dredging | Used for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water Skimming | Requires calm sea Solidifying | Solidifiers change physical state of spilled oil from liquid to semi-solid or rubber-like material that floats on water, making removal oil easy Vacuum & Centrifuge | Oil can be sucked up with water, and then a centrifuge used to separate the two With inputs from Mateen Hafeez