Averted by slick timing

A major oil spill was averted when an oil barge, Innovative I, which had run aground in the coastal waters off Andhra Pradesh, was finally anchored by the Coast Guard after a week of anxious waiting. Rubberised salvage barges have been rushed from Madras and Bombay to pump the oil out of the vessel. This has reduced the risk that the tanker, carrying 1,600 tonnes of crude, will break up and spill its contents.

Innovative I had been hired by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission to transport crude from the Rawa oilfield near Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh to Vishakapatnam. It ran aground at Sacramento Point near Kakinada, where the Goutami river washes into the sea. Three Coast Guard patrol ships equipped with "oil spill response equipments" had been keeping a constant vigil over the barge. The Coast Guard also employed a Dornier for air surveillance. With the barge reported to be tilting 7 degrees to port, there were strong fears of an oil spill, which could have spelled doom for marine and coastal life down the 350 nautical miles of coastline from Vishakapatnam to Madras.

The threat of the oil spill has generated criticism on the apathetic attitude of the oil producing companies towards safety regulations. The "oil spill contingency plans", drawn up by the oil companies with the help of foreign consultants in November last year, have evidently not been executed. Environmentalists have questioned the government's decision to invite foreign companies for offshore oil exploration on the grounds that it is unable even to ensure that its own agencies initiate steps to ensure the safety of marine life.

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