The Indian Coast Guard said on Thursday that 10 kilo litres (KL) of oil have spilled into the sea about 450 km southeast of Chennai from a Portuguese flag container ship named MV Devon. The vessel was on passage from Colombo to Haldia in West Bengal, carrying 10,795 tonnes of general cargo in 382 containers, manned by 17 crew members of mixed nationality. “#MVDevon
#MVDevon enroute Haldia from Colombo reported fuel tank breach resulting in spillage of 10KL oil into sea approx 250 nm SE of Chennai on 16 Jun. Vessel stable & continuing passage. All concerned informed by @IndiaCoastGuard. Situation being monitored.@DefenceMinIndia @moefcc pic.twitter.com/aCSJ62xb9k
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 17, 2021
The Coast Guard said that it had received information from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo late on Wednesday about a mid sea oil spill about 450 km southeast of Chennai. On investigation, it was found that MV Devon had developed an underwater crack on the left side of the fuel tank containing about 120 KL of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO). The crack resulted in spillage of about 10 KL of oil into the sea before preventive action was taken and the remaining oil in the tank was transferred to another tank by the ship's crew. The container carrier is expected to reach Haldia on Friday and as per the ship's master, the vessel is stable, the Coast Guard said.
In November 2018, a major oil spill of about 1 tonne took place at Kamarajar Port in Ennore, close to Chennai. The vessel built in 2004 belonged to Atlantic Shipping Private Ltd and was an oil/chemical tanker. The spill raised serious concerns of environmental damage among activists and environmentalists.
(With inputs from IANS)