An inland vessel sank inside the Mumbai Port Trust on Sunday afternoon, spilling an estimated 20 tonnes of furnace fuel oil. The Coast Guard launched an operation to contain the oil spill. The operation was called off on Monday evening.
“The MbPT officials informed the Coast Guard of an oil spill in their Malet Bunder premises at around 4.30 pm on Sunday. The spill was caused due to the sinking of inland vessel Al Husaini, berthed in the basin in police custody since April 8,” said a Coast Guard officer. The incident is believed to have occurred before 3 pm.
“Al-Husaini was in police custody for the last few weeks. On Sunday, it was being moved to another location. This is when it sank. There must have been some breach on the vessel,” said a source. The police had seized the vessel as it was originally a fishing trawler, that was later modified into a barge and illegal activity was reported on it.
As on Monday evening, the vessel was inside the waters and MbPT authorities were making arrangements to salvage it. However, the salvage operation will be conducted only later this week.
With the help of booms and skimmers, the Coast Guard officers managed to mop up approximately six to seven tonnes of oily water mixture. “Our resources were close to the area, so we could reach the premises in no time, unlike the situations where the oil spill happens mid-sea,” added the officer.