Port authorities' negligence caused Chennai oil spill, says govt report
The report has asked them why penal action should not be taken against them for negligence
A report filed by the principal secretary to the Tamil Nadu government Atulya Misra has alleged that negligence of Kamarajar port authorities and cargo ship companies was responsible for the Chennai Oil spill.
The report claims that as against the initial information of 2 tonnes of slick spilling into the sea, oil sludge totalling more than 150 tonnes was collected from the sea. The report also says that petroleum products were found washed ashore at RK Puram while oil slick was found washed ashore along the coastline well beyond the Injambakkam beach.
The
report
has
accused
the
Kamarajar
port
authorities
of
failing
to
inform
of
the
accident.
"You
(port
authorities)
have
not
taken
meticulous
steps
to
systematically
assess
the
damage
and
report
the
extent
of
spillage
of
oil
into
the
sea.
Have
not
assessed
the
exact
quantity
of
oil
that
would
have
spilled
into
the
sea
due
to
damage
in
ship
bunkers.
This
lapse
affects
the
marine
environment
and
the
shoreline
of
the
coast
of
Tamil
Nadu," the
report
said.
The report has warned that the government can file criminal prosecution before the court for violations of section 9 (1) of environment protection act 1986. The report holds the negligence port authorities and owners of the cargo ships accountable for the disaster. The government has given them three-day period to explain why criminal prosecution should not be initiated against them for failing to follow procedure. "State why penal action should not be taken against you for negligence."
"Non-receipt
of
reply
within
3
days
will
be
construed
that
you
have
no
satisfactory
explanation
to
offer," the
report
states
while
highlighting
that
the
authorities
are
liable
to
five
years
imprisonment
or
Rs
1
lakh
fine
or
both.
According
to
the
report,
the
oil
spill
occurred
at
around
4
am
on
January
28
at
a
distance
of
1.5
kilometre
from
Kamarajar
Port.
An
outbound
BW
Maple
that
had
offloaded
LPG
at
the
port
collided
with
an
inbound
petroleum
carrier
ship,
MT
Dawn
Kanchipuram
carrying
petroleum
products
to
the
tune
of
32,000
MT.
The
collision
led
to
a
spill
of
heavy
furnace
oil
and
slop
oil
from
MT
Dawn
Kanchipuram's
bunkers.
OneIndia News