Days after two ships collided near Kamarajar port, one of the ships, MT Dawn Kancheepuram, has blamed Kamarajar port for the oil spill.
They claim that they were made to wait two days in the outer harbour even after requesting the port to allow them inside to discharge the oil and it turned into an environmental disaster because of the delay, reported The New Indian Express.
MT Dawn Kancheepuram claimed that immediately after the collision, they had asked the port to take the ship inside.
Captain Sowresh Gon, senior vice-president Corporate Affairs of Darya Shipping Solutions told TNIE that they were made to wait two days and if the port would have allowed them to discharge the oil, the oil spill into the sea could have been stopped.
Kamarajar Port has denied these allegations.
An official said that the ship was asked to transfer the cargo to another ship but they failed to do so.
The ship was also asked to give an undertaking which was also delayed by a day. “The shipping ministry and the director general of shipping were informed, and after getting clearance from DG shipping, the ship was inspected for its seaworthiness. This also took another half a day,” an official told TNIE.
Sources at the port said that Ennore Tank Terminal Private Limited did not want the vessel to be brought inside. But after two days, the vessel was brought inside.
The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation said that the proportion of oil which spilled from the vessel is less than 10 per cent out of 20 metric tonnes but Coast Guard Deputy Inspector General MA Warsi said that they collected 40 metric tonnes thick sludge.
No police case has been filed in the incident till now.
This story was first reported by C Shivakumar of The New Indian Express.
Source: The News Minute