A bitter spill to swallow

A collision at sea resulted in the INS Vindhyagiri sinking at the Mumbai dock. Experts warn that oil spills, as a result of these accidents, have a disastrous effect on ecology

A bitter spill to swallow

A collision at sea resulted in the INS Vindhyagiri sinking at the Mumbai dock. Experts warn that oil spills, as a result of these accidents, have a disastrous effect on ecology

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The latest accident off the Mumbai coast, with the INS Vindhyagiri sinking at the Mumbai dock three days ago, is one more nail in the city's ecological coffin. This is the third accident on the Mumbai coastline in a span of five months which has resulted in an oil spill.

The first major accident occurred in August 2010 when the MSC Chitra collided with MV Khalijia-III, a Pakistani ship, near the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).

The INS Vindhyagiri barely visible under the water

This was followed by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission'su00a0 (ONGC) trunk oil pipeline burst at Uran on January 21 2011, which caused the oil to spread over four sq km. Now, in the latest collision, we have the sinking of Naval warship, the INS Vindhyagiri.

Three oil spills in such a short time have huge ramifications for marine life, say experts. They suggest that the Chitra collision and the subsequent oil spill was more damaging to the ecology than the following two.

They believe these mishaps will have an adverse impact not only on the ecology but also on marine life. Of these three major incidents, the collision involving the MSC Chitra caused a major oil spill severely affecting marine flora and fauna.

"It is unfortunate that such mishaps are happening more frequently of late," said Deepak Apte, marine biologist and Deputy Director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). "Any oil spill on water blocks sunlight and affects the process of photosynthesis, which in turn affects the flora," he added.

Study

Interestingly, the BNHS had recently conducted a study on the impact of oil spill after the Chitra collision. The study has established that the oil spread over approximately 1273.24 ha which equals to 12.73 sq km area.
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According to the report, a copy of which is available with this newspaper, the oil spill caused by the collision of MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia, caused significant disturbances to marine and coastal habitat.

Flora and Fauna

Avicennia marina, a marine plant has survived several decades of heavy pollution at the Mumbai coast.u00a0

More seasonal data is needed to ascertain the real damage caused to the mangrove seedling establishment as well as marine fauna, say officials.u00a0

u00a0"The government should have called in experts to ascertain the damage done to marine life and tried to contain it, post the INS Vindhyagiri incident. Vut we haven't heard from the Navy or the government to date and cannot conduct any examination until specifically asked to," said Apte.

MSC Chitra, the ship that collided with MV Khalijia-111 off the Mumbai coast in August last year

However, Defence Spokesman Captain Manohar Nambiar downplayed the oil spill issue, stating, "The oil spill from the INS Vindhyagiri was minimal and the spread was taken care of."

Asked about the reason for not allowing the pollution control board or another government agency to carry out a study on the extent of the Vindhyagiri oil spill, Nambiar said, "The entire operation was carried out by the coast guard and they are well equipped to tackle any such situation."

Dr Jiyalal Ram Jaiswar, senior scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), had carried out extensive research soon after the MSC Chitra oil spill.

He said, "We have collected samples to study the impact of oil spill on water quality, sediment quality and flora and fauna including mangroves. Samples have been collected from Uran, JNPT, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Sewri, Thane creek, Juhu beach and Chowpatty."

He added that Uran beach was highly contaminated by the oil spill, the effect of which was also visible in Trombay, JNPT, Thane Creek, Sewri and other places. The plastics and waste at Uran beach are a major threat to ecology and should beu00a0 cleaned immediately.

The interim report with reference to the Chitra oil spill is ready and the final report would be made available to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and other government agencies including the Ministry of Environment.u00a0

Hazardous

# When oil leaks, a layer of oil is formed on the surface of the sea. This layer of oil restricts the penetration of sunlight into the sea and hinders photosynthetic processes, which hampers marine life.

#The oil comes in contact with marine organisms like zooplanktons, small fishes, and phytoplanktons posing a threat to their survival.

#These oil-coated organisms are eaten by large fishes and they in turn get infected. Human beings are affected after they eat these large fishes.

#If an oil spill persists for a long time (15 days or more) the oxygen concentration of the seawater is reduced.

Control

There are different dispersants, which are being used to control oil slicks. However, if marine organisms get affected then the whole food chain gets affected.u00a0

RECOVERY

Since the sea has strong waves and currents there is natural mixing and recovery that takes place. It usually takes approximately six months or a year for the sea to get completely rid of the oil.

INS Vindhyagiri

The Nilgiri Class frigates served as the mainstay and workhorse for the Indian Navy during the 1980s and early 1990s and they formed the 14th Frigate Squadron. INS Vindhyagiri was commissioned on July 8, 1981.
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The Nilgiri class frigates of the Indian Navy are updated versions of the Leander class designed and built for the Indian Navy by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai. Six ships have been built between 1972-81.u00a0

The Nilgiri class and its lead ship, INS Nilgiri are all named after the Nilgiri Hills. Subsequent ships of the class are also named after various hills. The Nilgiri class will be decommissioned by the Navy.

Four ships from the class have been decommissioned, with the remainder being used primarily for training and testing roles.

Background
INS Vindhyagiri sank at the Mumbai dock on Monday after colliding head-on with the Merchant Vessel (MV) Nordlake on Sunday. The impact had caused a major fire in the ship. Fire fighters tried to douse the blaze but there was flooding inside the warship. The ship managed to reach the naval dockyard before it finally met its watery grave, earlier this week.