The 25-year-old and 175 metre-long abandoned vessel Pratibha Tapi, carrying at least 130 tonnes of oil, was barely two nautical miles (3.7 km) away from running ashore the Madh Island on Monday evening, sparking a fear of an oil spill, in case the ship hit the rocky part of the seabed.
Though the vessel is said to be stable, in case its drifts further, it may run ashore within four hours.
In January this year, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) had alerted the DG Shipping about a few more vessels owned by the Pratibha Shipping Company, including Tapi and Pratibha Indrayani, which needed to be towed.
In reply, a directorate general (DG) of Shipping official said, “The owner of the vessel has gone bankrupt and two of his vessels are being towed by us with the help of the Shipping Corporation of India, which will carry out the towing operation. Tapi is stable, but if it drifts further it will take another four to five hours for it to run aground.”
The officials are waiting for favourable weather conditions to position the towing vessel. “A favourable condition will not come till the end of monsoon and the DG Shipping must start the towing operation as soon as possible,” added a coast guard official.
B.G. Kulkarni, director of the Institute of Science (established in 1920), Mumbai, said, “130 tonnes of oil is a lot to badly affect the flora and fauna near Madh. The oil spill will affect the fish, especially the crabs, hermit crabs and other invertebrates. It will also affect the mangroves.”
According to Mr Kulkarni, due to the weather condition, the oil’s bio-degradation will start quickly. If not, it
will convert into tar balls, that will definitely affect the marine life.
“The chances of an oil-spill are less as the rocks under the sea near Manor are big, but Madh Island is muddy with small patches of rocks,” added the DG Shipping official.