Oil spill recovery underway at Indian port

The accident took place after a flexible hose snapped that was being used to transfer oil by the Coral Stars tanker, reported NDTV. Authorities said that the oil spill recovery works has been initiated with the expectation that it would be finished by 19 November.

“The oil tanker Coral Stars was discharging fuel on Sunday morning. Suddenly one of its flexible pipes broke resulting in a small amount of oil spill on the berth and around the ship,” P. Raveendran, the port’s chairman and managing director said.

He added: “Skimmers were being used to remove the oil from the water. We feel 80 per cent of spilled oil has been contained within the boom and have not spread out.”

Following the incident, the port confirmed that oil discharge was stopped immediately and booms were deployed around the oil tanker to prevent the spread.

No disruption to the port was reported.

Officials from Indian Coast Guard and Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) are monitoring the situation.

The same area suffered a major oil spill when two cargo ships ran into each other in January 2017.

Kamarajar Port has been contacted for comment but did not respond by deadline.