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Ignoring oil spill may cost Goa dear

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panjim

In a last-minute attempt to avoid any kind of ecological destruction along the Goan coast, Salgaoncar Shipping has begun the operation of removing oil from a ship grounded off the Sinquerim beach in north Goa with the help of the Coast Guard.

The reluctance of the state administration to tackle the fall-out from the spill had threatened the marine life along the Sinquerim-Calangute-Baga coast besides spoiling the beauty of the beachline. While the danger remains, the involvement of the Coast Guard resulted in some uncomfortable facts about the spill coming out into the open.

"There are altogether four tanks and only 16 kilolitres have been pumped out from one tank so far," says Comdt V S R Murthy, Commander of Coast Guard. Still more oil remains to be removed, he adds.

This contradicts the claim made by Anil Salgaoncar, the ship owner, that the ship does not contain more than 20 KL of oil. The ship is grounded hardly 100 metres off the beach on the Sinquerim-Calangute-Baga stretch since June 6.

The state administration ignored the 240 metre long ore carrier despite the pleas of local hoteliers and the panchayat, preferring to believe what the owner said about the quantity of oil in the ship.

North Goa Collector Sanjiv Khirwar admits that the state administration did not take much interest till the oil started spilling out last week. Though the spill is now fully under control, Khirwar said that it could cause pollution along the beachline and cause harm to the marine life if no immediate measures were taken.

After ridding the beach of the oil patches, the Coast Guard helped Anderson Marine, a firm engaged by the Salgaoncars to remove the oil, erect a vertical floating wall around the ship with the help of river booms to contain the spill.

The rough weather is yet to subside with the western coast witnessing heavy rainfall.

The Coast Guard has engaged the services of its entire machinery, including trained personnel from Bombay, three helicopters, one fast petrol vessel, one interceptor craft and two Gemini boats.

Khirwar hopes that the whole operation could be completed by September 18. However, the ship's fate is yet to be decided, he added.

While Salgaoncar has the option of either towing the ship away or salvaging it, the decision needs to be taken quickly as it may stand out like a sore thumb when tourists visit the popular Sinquerim-Calangute beach.

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