HC directs action to save marine life after oil spill

Experts are examining the extent of damage in the Bay of Bengal

The Colombo-bound Tiger Spring was hit in the middle by the Bahamas-registered ship, Green Valley, on November 22 last at the confluence of two rivers at Nurpur, about four nautical miles from the Bay of Bengal, had reportedly offloaded oil into the river to stay afloat, environmentalist Subhas Dutta argued in his petition.

The oil spill from the damaged container vessel, currently awaiting emergency repairs, has been posing threat to marine life and polluting water of the river, Dutta said.

Hearing the petition, the Calcutta High Court gave a crucial directive asking the police to take note of Dutta’s complaint and ordered the state pollution control board authorities to prepare a detailed report on the extent of pollution in the river.
Earlier, angered at the lackadaisical attitute of the authorities in ensuring protection of the marine life, the activist had registered a complaint with the Ramnagar police station demanding compensation for fishermen, before moving a petition in the high court against the owner of the vessel for causing marine pollution.

“Fishermen have been incurring huge losses, as the oil spill has threatened marine life,” Dutta complained here on Friday. Port and pollution control authorities have finally decided to assess the environmental damage from the oil spill and water samples of the area have already been collected. According to Kolkata Port Trust authorities, repair work of the damaged ship has not begun yet as equipment and spares are yet to reach. However, experts from the Netherlands have arrived and are currently examining the extent of the damage.

“There is no disaster management plan available with the port authorities at the moment to deal with such a crisis. It is time they organised one in order to handle an identical situation in future,” Dutta argued.