Marooned ship major threat to Sunderbans ecosystem

KOLKATA: Pollution due to an oil spill looms large on the Sunderbans as the MV SSL Kolkata has tilted nearly 40 degrees to starboard.
Though the fuel tanks are sealed, officials aren’t sure whether the fuel would seep out from damaged pipelines. The ship has nearly 210 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) that will prove difficult for chemicals used by the Coast Guard to disperse. In fact, salvors from SMIT Salvage have warned that the dispersant could cause more ecological damage unless it reacts with the oil.

The tilting of the ship has made things difficult for the salvors and Indian agencies involved in preventing an oil spill near the Sunderbans.

The ship carrying containers to Kolkata from Krishnapatnam reported a fire on the night of June 13 and its 22-member crew abandoned ship the next morning. What has now come to light is the fact that some of the containers were carrying Magnesium that reacted on coming in contact with salt water. This led to regular explosions and emanation of dense smoke from the abandoned ship, even on Friday.

“The ship was also carrying Toluene and Acetic Acid in containers. All this was a dangerous combination. Cracks have developed midships and water is entering the holds. However, there is no possibility of the ship capsizing and disappearing below the waves as the draught at its present location is barely 3.5-4 metres. The draught of the ship is eight metres. It can tilt at a 90-degree angle and lay there sideways. This will probably help the salvors who are trying to remove fuel and other oils from the ships tanks,” an official said.

The ship is carrying about 210 tonnes of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and several tonnes of generator oil and other fuels. The total quantity could be nearly 400 tonnes, officials believe. While the Coast Guard has sent Dracone (inflatable) barges to remove the fuel from the ship’s tanks, there is no pump on board to carry out this operation.

According to an official, attempts were made to lower a pump weighing 1.5 tonnes by a helicopter on Friday but this couldn’t take place due to the explosions and the tilt of the ship.

“While the Coast Guard is making efforts to contain any oil spill using buffers, the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is ready to send in pads, cotton and mops to clean up any oil on the surface of the water, though the ship is beyond its jurisdiction. The weather condition is bad though and the low draught isn’t allowing larger vessels to approach. Some smaller vessels have been kept on a standby to move in if the situation deteriorates,” another official added.