No fresh tar balls reported on beaches, says Coast Guard

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No fresh tar balls have been reported on local beaches, as oil spill from sunken cargo vessel M.V. Rak off the Mumbai coast has reduced considerably, the Coast Guard said today.

Coast Guard ships Varuna and Amrit Kaur continue to combat oil spill from sunken vessel.

A Coast Guard helicopter also undertook aerial assessment of extent of oil pollution at sea, along coast and observed oil slick area restricted to five to seven nautical miles from the sunken vessel, a release said.

The outflow was about half tonne per hour and ships sprayed Oil Spill Dispersant in heavily-affected areas to neutralise oil patches and situation is said to be under control. Coast Guard Dornier aircraft was launched this afternoon in pollution response mode to spray dispersants in areas which were not approachable by ship, it said.

Samudra Prahari will join operations tomorrow upon completion of logistic replenishment.

No fresh tar balls have been reported on beaches, the release said, adding CG volunteers are assisting local administration in beach clean up operations.

The Panama-flagged M.V. Rak, which was on its way from Indonesia's Tutung to Dahej in Gujarat with 60,000 tonnes of coal, sank on August 4 off the city coast.

A 30-member crew of Indonesian, Jordanian and Romanian nationalities on its board was rescued by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard personnel before it sank.