The Indian Coast Guard claims that the oil spill figures that affected the marine life along the Chennai coast were wrongly quoted.
As per the Indian Coast Guards, Tamil Nadu Government and the port authority had claimed that close to a ton of oil had spilled into the sea. However, Indian Coast Guards claims the figure to be much higher and is estimated to be close to 20 metric tons.
After the claims were made, the other government agencies admitted that the damage was higher than what was projected. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) also states that post the split, the water quality and marine life has also been severely deteriorated.
The massive oil spill occurred a month ago in Chennai on January 28 which raised fear among the environmentalists for the increased risk to marine life.
The incident occurred when two ships namely, MT BW Maple-a ship from the Isle of Man and MT Dawn Kanchipuram- carrying nearly 45,000 tons of petroleum collided at the Ennore port in Chennai.
This collision resulted in the oil to spill along the 800m of shoreline across Chennai Harbour. Alongside, the prevalent Marina Beach and two to three kilometers of the shoreline near Thiruvalluvar district as also affected.
This oil spill caused a massive impact on the marine species thereby killing 150 Olive Ridley turtles. The spill posed a serious threat to the aquatic biodiversity along the coast. However, the environmentalists were sure that the real ecological damage would be more visible with a span of a few more months.
Though just a few days later, the state Chief Minister claimed after certain laboratory tests on marine samples that the Marine life has not been adversely affected.
Image Credit: Diplomat
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