Kochi container ship accident: Kerala faces oil spill threat, with no contingency plan, PCB at sea over what to do

Kerala is dealing with a major oil spill incident without a contingency plan. The Liberian container vessel MSC ELSA 3 sank off the Kochi coast on Sunday. The vessel was loaded with 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil. It had 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide. The containers which were adrift have started washing ashore in Kollam and Alappuzha districts. While the chances of an oil spill near the shore are less, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board has been found ill-equipped to handle the situation. 

PCB chairperson Sreekala S said that at present, the board doesn't have an oil spill contingency plan. "We are still in the process of finalising the tender and evaluating the report," said Sreekala. When asked about the standard operating procedure to deal with containers stocked with hazardous substances which are being washed ashore on the Kerala coast, Sreekala said respective district collectors will make that decision. "Our officers are stationed in Alappuzha and Kollam. District collectors will decide the procedure to deal with containers after meetings," said Sreekala.

The absence of a contingency plan to handle an oil spill off Kerala coast is seen as a major failure on the part of PCB. Experts associated with the disaster management said that steps to prepare the contingency plan began in 2016 and that it was shocking that the plan is yet to materialise.

Proceedings issued by the PCB in 2016 show that in June 2016, the Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, held a meeting to review the level of preparedness of major accident hazard units to deal with chemical accidents. In the meeting, it was decided that the PCB, in association with the Central Coast Guard, will prepare an oil spill emergency plan for the state.

In October 2016, an expression of interest was issued, and a committee was constituted to oversee the preparation of the plan. As part of the project, an agency was supposed to come up with ship board pollution emergency plan, tactical oil spill booming/site response plans, marine emergency response plan and crisis management plan. Shoreline response operations and shoreline oil spill response elements as well as administrative action for shoreline clean-up were included in the plan.

"Although the tender was issued, there was a difference of opinion over the cost estimate, and we had to go for a retender," said Sreekala, explaining the delay in the formulation of an oil contingency plan.

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed the ICG ship Saksham, carrying pollution response equipment at the site, and the ICG aircraft, which are equipped with advanced oil spill detection systems, are conducting aerial surveillance.

As per the terms of reference prepared to stress the need for an oil spill contingency plan, Kerala's entire coast is prone to oil spill disasters, as one of the international oil transportation routes is adjacent to the state's coastline. Out of 14 districts in Kerala, nine are oil spill-prone. The oil tankers and other ships visiting the ports located in Kerala pose a risk to the coastline areas whenever they are involved in accidents, and accidental discharges may involve escape of bunker fuel or oil cargo resulting from a marine incident, the document noted.

The plan was meant to cover marine oil spills of any manner that occur within 12 nautical miles (24 km) of Kerala's coastline and approaches and the riverine systems extending 40km inland or till tidal effect, or whichever is more.