Oil Spill Mumbai Poses Environmental Threat

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MUMBAI, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- Although the leakage of oil from the sinking ship Panamanian ship MSC Chitra has been halted, the large amount of oil that has already spilled into the Arabian sea is likely to pose a major threat to the environment. The Coast Guard officials have confirmed to the media that oil leak has been plugged but concerns are mounting as the oil slick across the Mumbai Harbor is gradually spreading. However, the government officials have emphasized that all the necessary steps are being undertaken to ensure that the situation is brought under control and the damage caused by the oil spill can be contained.

Since the collision of MSC Chitra with another Panamanian-registered vessel on Saturday, around 2,000 litres of oil has already spilled into the sea as the maritime economic activity in the country has come to a grinding halt as two of the biggest seas ports of India, the Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port continues to remain shut for the fourth consecutive day. While talking to the reporters about the oil spill in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has noted that the oil slick across the coast of Mumbai is indeed a serious concern but pointed out that the government is keeping no stones unturned to ensure that the disaster can be prevented.

In the meanwhile, experts have revealed that it might take as many as 45 days to clean up the oil slick owing to the oil spill in Mumbai but the Maharashtra government is looking forward to bring the scenario under control within a ten day deadline.