Mumbai oil spill: threat to marine life, coast

Two cargo ships collided off the Mumbai coast on August 7 causing an oil spill that spread quickly through Maharashtra's coastline. MSC Chitra ruptured its tank when it hit incoming MV Khalijia and ran aground at Colaba, near Prongs Reef Lighthouse. The vessel contained about 1,200 tonnes of fuel oil in its tanks of which 800 tonnes spilled into the Arabian Sea before the leaks could be plugged two days later.

India pledges to sign Bunker Convention after the spill

The International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 or Bunker Convention is meant to ensure prompt and effective compensation to persons who suffer damage caused by oil spill, when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers. The convention came into force in November 2008, but India is still not a signatory to it.

What the disaster plan says

The National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (nos-dcp) of 2006 allocates functional responsibilities to various ministries and departments for oil spill response in the maritime zones of India. The Director General Coast Guard is designated the Central Coordinating Authority (cca) to implement the plan. The nos-dcp 2006 provisions state:

Dangerous cargo

MSC Chitra, a Panama registered cargo ship, was loaded with 1,219 containers of which 31 contained hazardous material—six had organophosphate pesticides and the remaining contained sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide. It is not certain if the containers that fell into the sea have ruptured and leaked.