A thin layer of lubricant oil was first spotted at the spot where the bulk carrier went down on Friday. Since then, oil patches have appeared in parts of Mumbai and Raigad district. Yet, the country's shipping and security agencies have focused on damage control and not on closing the breach in MV Rak, which rests on the seafloor at a depth of about 35 to 40 metres. The argument the agencies give in their defence is that the ship's insurance company should bear the cost of the effort.
"They should have at least sent in a diver to find out the source of the leak and then plugged it. But since Saturday, the authorities are only engaged in damage control," said Sumaira Abdulali , a city-based environmental activist.
Across the world, whenever there is an oil spill from a sunken ship, expert divers are used, if possible, to detect the source of the breach and cap it. A few years ago, a team of 12 US Navy-contracted divers closed an oil leak from a sunken World War II ship in Pacific Ocean. MV Rak Carrier, which sank on Thursday about 20 nautical miles off Prongs Reef Light House in Colaba, is carrying 60,054 tonnes of coal, 290 tonnes of fuel oil, 49 tonnes of diesel and 4 tonnes of lubricant oil. The directorate general of shipping says it is waiting for the insurance company to agree to foot the bill before sending in expert divers. SB Agnihotri, director general of shipping, said: "Now that the rate of oil leak has reduced we expect the spill to stop completely. So we would like to take some time and carry out the diving operation smoothly instead of hurrying it up. The insurance company, meanwhile, is in talks with the salvage company and it will send expert divers in a day or two." Agnihotri added: "If the fuel tanks are intact, we will try to pull out the remaining oil. It is the insurance company that will bear the costs of sending the expert divers." Read the full report here.
Source: Simit Bhagat, TNN, Mumbai.
