[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The Chennai Port Trust is working to enhance its oil spill response capacity, and is planning to add a new oil spill response vessel into service, Indian media reports.
The news comes following the collision of two tankers, the MT BW Maple and the MT Dawn Kanchipuram, on January 28 at Chennai’s Kamarajar Port, which led to a bunker spill that left authorities scrambling to provide an adequate response.
An official has told Indian media that the Chennai Port Trust intends to procure flex barges, which could contain 40 tonnes of oil in the event of another spill, and has floated tenders for a new oil spill response vessel.
The new vessel would come as an addition to an existing oil spill response vessel, Prestige, which can contain 100 tonnes of spillage.
The official noted that Prestige was not used to respond to the recent spill as it was too close to the shore, explaining: “they had used our booms to contain oil in Ernavoor as well as Kamarajar Port.”
Meanwhile, a source from the Indian Coast Guard says their vessel Varad, which is said to have played a key part in the recent spill response operation, is set to be retired in March, and will be replaced by a new offshore patrol vessel.
The coast guard has also announced that it is now mandatory for all Indian ports to have space for storing pollution response equipment.
As Ship & Bunker reported earlier this month, the cause of the collision between the two tankers has been ruled as “human error.”
Source: Ship & Bunker
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
