Government to seek 125 crores from ship owners

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar told reporters here that the livelihood of thousands of fishermen in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts were affected due to oil spill during the past 10 days. “There are 1,11,421 persons whose livelihoods are either directly or indirectly dependent on either fish and fish products. After assessing the loss incurred by the fishermen, we have decided to claim Rs 125.31 crore as compensation from the management of the two ships’’, he said. The Minister said the ships were detained by the coastal security team, and berthed at Kamarajar Port. It would be allowed to leave the port only after the claims were settled through insurance, he added.

Describing the collision as an unfortunate incident caused by “human error”, he said all efforts were being made to remove the slick and maintained that the oil spill from the damaged vessel has been arrested. The collision took place on January 28 at 4 am when M T BW Maple, with a flag of ‘Isle of Man’, was leaving after emptying Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and M T Dawn Kanchipuram loaded with petroleum oil lubricant (POL) was on its way to berth at the Kamarajar Port, formerly Ennore port. Responding to a query on oil leak from the damaged vessel (Dawn Kanchipuram), Jayakumar said, “The leakage from the ship has been totally arrested.”

On people’s apprehensions about consuming fish caught by fishermen, Jayakumar reiterated his stand that it was safe to consume as fishermen normally fish in deep sea than in shallow waters. “I have been saying this many times. It is not true that fish are caught from shallow waters,” he said. He warned that action would be taken against those spreading rumours on social media that it was not safe to consume fish. Fisheries and Research Institute Principal S Felix said, “We are collecting samples from the accident spot every once in three days to check any impact on fish species in the sea and tested them. In the first course we found there is no contamination to the fish species. So people need not fear.”

Claims desk set up to finalise compensation for victims

More than a week after the collision between MT BW Maple and MT Dawn Kanchipuram took place at 3.45 am on January 28 off Kamarajar Port, resulting in an oil spill, a ‘claims desk’ has been set up to receive claims for the affected parties who have incurred expenditure in clean-up operations and whose livelihoods have been affected.

Director General, Shipping, Malini Shankar said that after ensuring the safety and security of the vessels and the clean-up operations, the next most important response is the subject of compensation — of expenses incurred by various departments engaged in the clean-up and people whose livelihoods are affected by the oil spill. 

“The enquiry will reveal the details behind the collision. For now, we think it is important to set up the claims desk, as the procedures under the Merchant Shipping Act, are meticulous and take time. The agencies which have spent for the clean-up operations will be reimbursed and the respective government departments have been intimated to process claims of those who have lost their livelihoods due to the spill. The earlier it starts, the better,” said the official, who has met with representatives of both the vessels as well as different stakeholders, including state and central government officials to inform them on the settlement of claims. 

The P&I insurers of MT Dawn Kanchipuram (Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited) have established a claims desk at Crowe Boda & Company Private Limited, at MLM Building on Wallajah Road. Both the vessels have been restrained from leaving the port without permission and instructions have been issued by the Port and Police Authorities. Notices were issued under Section 356 (J) and 356 (K) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958.

Even as the manual clean-up operation is underway to remove sludge at the RK Nagar Beach in Ernavur by various state government personnel and hundreds of volunteers, the city’s spirit of resilience was lauded by central government officials.

“Nowhere else have we seen hundreds of volunteers who had immediately started participating in the clean-up operations,” said Capt. K P Jayakumar, Deputy Nautical Adviser, Ministry of Shipping, DG Shipping. Tonnes of sludge have been manually removed, using buckets, as volunteers and government staff formed a human chain. 

“What we have seen in Chennai is remarkable. The whole of Chennai had risen to the occasion. We have had many volunteers from various maritime institutions as well as NGOs. We have been able to contain the spill and clean-up as fast as we could,” added the official. On the quantity of the oil spill, the officials said that it would be revealed in the enquiry. Capt. K P Jayakumar, Deputy Nautical Adviser, Ministry of Shipping, DG Shipping, said, “The oil spill resulted from the fuel used to run the ship, which is crude and furnace oil. The exact assessment of the spill is possible only after going into the tanks, for which it is essential to clean the tanks to ensure no fuel residue.”