Oil leak spotted around cyclone-affected barge off Palghar coast in Maharashtra.
Oil leak was spotted on Saturday around the barge `Gal Constructor’ which had run aground throughout cyclone Tauktae off the Palghar coast in Maharashtra, officers mentioned.
The Indian Coast Guard mentioned a “silvery oil sheen” of fifty metres in width was spotted and all precautions are being taken. The spill had not reached the shore, it added.
As many as 137 folks had been rescued from the barge after the cyclone hit it on May 17.
Palghar district catastrophe management chief Vivekanand Kadam informed PTI that the leak was spotted near Vadrai coast in Palghar, close to Mumbai.
“Officials from the Maharashtra Maritime Board as well as Coast Guard personnel are on the spot, trying to plug the leak as and when the tide allows,” Kadam mentioned.
The Coast Guard mentioned in an announcement that Gal Constructor was carrying roughly 78 kilo litres of High Flash High Speed Diesel (HFHSD) however had no crude oil on board, and no breach of oil tank was reported.
The barge had been deployed by contractor agency Afcons on behalf of state-run ONGC to service its oil and fuel fields close to the Mumbai coast.
The firm organized Seacare which has laid a growth of 400 metres around the barge whereas two gasoline barges have been employed for the elimination of oil, the Coast Guard mentioned.
“No oil spill has been reported on shore as of now,” the discharge added.
The state of affairs was being intently monitored and the district administration is on alert in case oil reaches the shore and clean-up is required, it mentioned.
