The sea water turned completely black and the spill has spread over a 10-km area along the coast. The oil was found floating near the beach, and some washed ashore on the sands of the Olive Ridley nesting grounds at Gokharkuda and Kantigada. Over 200,000 sea turtles had nested there last month.
Fishermen heading to sea in Tuesday’s pre-dawn hours were the first to report that oil was clogging their nets. Most had to return without fishing.
The leak is believed to be from the oil tanks of S.S. Malavika, a ship heading for Gopalpur port, after a reported collision with another vessel.
The leaking oil could pose a threat to Chilika Lake as well since the Palur canal links the river with the lake. “There could be irreversible damage to the eggs and the sea turtle population. Marine fauna which are food for the turtles will be severely affected,” eminent turtle activist Biswajit Mohanty told this newspaper.
Mr Mohanty warned that the oil could also be ingested by the turtles, now in offshore waters, leading to their death.
“Dolphins too can also be affected by oil spills,” he said.
“A lot of dead fish are already floating in these waters. Some labourers are trying to clear the oil and save these eggs, but if there is high tide these eggs will be destroyed,” he added.
Mr Mohanty, secretary of the Wildlife Society of Orissa, made frantic efforts all day to galvanise the Coast Guard headquarters in New Delhi into taking speedy action.
Akshaya Kumar Sahoo and Rashme Sehgal