4 ships, several aircraft deployed for containment

Experts say ONGC's poor maintenance of Heera-Uran pipeline is to blame for 2-sq km, 25,000-barrel oil spill

THE Indian Coast Guard and ONGC are carrying out a major air- and sea-borne operationu00a0 to prevent a 2-sq km oil spill from wreaking environmental disaster along the city's coast.

ONGC alerted the Coast Guard about a possible oil leak from its ICP Heera-Uran, which is an 80-nautical mile trunk line, after oil pressure in the pipeline dropped around 9 am yesterday.


The Coast Guard has deployed four of its key pollution control vessels into the sea to contain the spill and prevent it from drifting towards the city

By the time coast guard aircraft and vessels reached the spot, an estimated 25,000 barrels (about 60 tonnes) of crude oil was already floating in streaks approximately 42 nautical miles off Nariman Point.

The Coast Guard have deployed four of its key pollution control vessels in the area to contain the spill and prevent it from drifting towards the city.

A team of ONGC divers has also been deployed to fix the ruptured sub-sea pipeline, which carries crude oil from Bombay High to the oil major's processing plant at Uran.

Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General Mukesh Purohit said, "Four ships sailed out to the spot within hours with anti-dispersants to contain the spill.

Chetak helicopters and Dornier fixed-wing aircraft are also carrying out sorties to ensure the oil does not spread towards the city."

A senior Coast Guard official told MiD DAY that the wind was blowing at .5 knots and, fortunately, the oil spill was not headed towards the coast.

He added,u00a0 however, that there was a strong possibility of crude balls being washed ashore by strong currents in the next few months.

Offshore experts blamed poor maintenance of the pipeline for the disaster. They said sub-sea inspections were not carried out regularly and despite chartering seven multi-service vessels to carryout routine maintenance of the pipeline at a cost of $60,000 (Rs 27 lakh) per day, most of the ships were usually unavailable.

ONGC's logs indicate the vessels regularly undergo repairs at shipyards in Dubai and Singapore.

"The rupture in the pipeline could not have developed overnight. A leak must have existed for a few months, which must have gone unnoticed because of the lack of inspections.
u00a0
The pipeline is 25 years old and extra precautions should have been taken,"u00a0 said a senior ONGC officer, requesting anonymity.

Aerial photographs indicate the slick is long and irregular. Fishing and other marine activities have been banned in the area until the spill is contained and repair work is finished.

August spill
Nearly 50 tonnes of oil spilled into the Arabian Sea when MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia-III collided off the Mumbai coast on August 7 last year. Chitra, which was outbound from South Mumbai's Nava Sheva port, collided with the inbound MV Khalijia-III, which caused about 200 cargo containers from MSC Chitra to be thrown into the Arabian Sea.

The Other Side
An ONGC spokesperson said they have been maintaining strict control of ordering and maintenance as per international standards. He added that oil production at Bombay High was resumed by late evening.