Ennore oil slick bigger than expected

The oil spill following a collision between two vessels near the Ennore Port on Saturday is ten times more than initially estimated.

According to a press statement from the Coast Guard, the oil spill is estimated at about 20 tonnes following the collision between MT Dawn Kanchipuram and MT BW Maple against the initial reports of 2-3 tonnes. Over 15 tonnes of oil and sludge have been collected by the response teams since Monday.

Operation Clean-up The entire stretch from Ennore Beach, to the north of Chennai, to Elliot Beach in the southern part of the city has been divided into four zones with dedicated teams for shoreline clean-up.

ICGS Varad has dispersed over two tonnes of Oil Spill Dispersant. On January 28, Coast Guard ship Abheek was immediately pressed into pollution response operation with two tonnes of OSD.

Various agencies including Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, State Fire Service, Kamarajar and Chennai Port, CSG including more than 200 volunteers from various NGOs, are participating in the clean-up work. Over 95 per cent of the oil slick is to the north of Chennai Harbour. About 800 metres of shoreline, at 11 locations has been affected with thick oil sludge washed ashore.

Cleaning-up of Marina Beach, which is minimally affected, began today and is likely to be completed by tomorrow.

The owners of MT Dawn Kanchipuram, Dharya Shipping, have been directed to hire private agencies for containment and recovery of the remaining oil.

PTI adds: State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, responding to a submission by Leader of Opposition MK Stalin in the Assembly today, said that steps were being taken to procure “oil dispersants which will have to come from the Centre.”

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