Chennai Oil Spill

On January 28, 2017, a collision of two tankers off the Ennore Port near Chennai resulted in leakage of around one tonne of oil into the ocean. Here is a short review of basics.

Causes of Oil spills

Often oil spills are generally caused by accidents involving tankers, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs, barges etc.  They can be caused due to natural disasters like hurricanes. They can happen due to deliberate actions of terrorists, anti-social elements and countries at war. Discharge of ballast, sludge and water used for cleaning of tanks. They can be caused by equipment breakdown or due to carelessness of people.

What are oil slick and sheen?

Oil floats on saltwater and usually on freshwaters also though dense oil is capable of sinking in freshwater. Oil spreads out very rapidly across the surface of the water to form a thin layer called as oil slick. With even more spreading, the layer of oil on the water surface starts becoming thinner and thinner and this thin layer is called as sheen. This sheen reaches far beyond the location of the original spill, due to which there are severe after effects on environment and marine life.

What are the ill-effects of oil spill on marine life?

Oil spills are harmful to marine birds, mammals and fishes. Oil spills harms marine life due to oil’s chemical constituents. Oil spills also block the penetration of sunlight leading to the death of marine creatures. Ingestion and inhalation of oil can prove fatal. Similarly external exposure causes skin and eye irritation. Oil also decreases the ability of mammals and birds to maintain their body temperatures. The oil spill also results in the coating of sands, rocks and plants with oily residue. When the coastal vegetation dies, the coast becomes vulnerable to greater erosion. Coral Reefs are also destroyed by oil spills.

What are the ways through which a spill can be cleaned up?

Mainly there are three ways to clean an oil spill:

• Through burning. This can lead to enormous atmospheric pollution.
• Through Skimming. These cannot be effective if a huge area is affected.
• By using chemicals to break the oil. But in this case the dispersants themselves can be toxic.

Further, there are some bioremediation techniques such as oil-zapper and robotics such as AEROS (Airborne Emergency Response to Oil Spills) available. India’s preparedness for Oil Spills

Cleaning up an oils spill is a challenging issue even with the help of technology as it is evident from various oil spills across the world. India does not have technology that is available with other countries to deal with oil spills. In the case of Chennai spills, the coast guard is using the fisherman and local residents to contain the oil spill.

With increase in maritime transportation and of hazardous substances, Systems to tackle oil spills must be included in our disaster management policy. Chennai oil spill has questioned the efficacy of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan which is updated periodically for all stakeholders including ports under the leadership of Coast guard. Given the India’s vast coastline, the government should set up effective response machinery. It should acquire the technology available with other countries to deal with oil spills.

Specialists and veterinarians specially trained on how to clean oil from animals and rehabilitate them have to be employed to save marine life after oil spills. Failure to safeguard marine turtle and bird habitats violates the provisions of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, and its specific memorandum on the Indian Ocean-Southeast Asian region to which India is a signatory.