Mangaluru : In the backdrop of the sinking of the dredging vessel ‘Tridevi Prem’. Ramana near Panambur Port, the chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) A V Ramana clarified that there is no need for the fishermen or the environmentalists to get panicked about the possibility of damage to marine life or environment due to the incident. There is no chance of oil spillage from the vessel, he assured speaking to the media on Friday, September 6.

“There is no oil spillage from the dredger as per the reports of water samples that were sent for testing. The oil that was in the dredger is low-Sulphur high-speed diesel. So there is no chance of this kind of oil getting leaked. In addition, the abandoned vessel is not in the route of entry or exit to and from the port. So there is no issue of traffic also. The owner of dredger vessel has to contact the respective insurance company and salvage the vessel. Buoys will be floated around the area where the dredger is abandoned in order to prevent the local fishermen from going near it,” he explained.

“Skimmers and oil absorbents are on standby along with the resources of Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL). NMPT has kept boom barriers around the dredger vessel. Help is sought from the ports of Mumbai, Goa and Cochin ports to keep their pollution control equipment ready to combat any situation,” he informed.

Speaking on the occasion, environmental advisor of Ministry of Shipping, Dr R D Tripati said, “In the case of Tridevi Prem dredger vessel, there is no black oil of higher viscosity. Initially I was apprehensive about this fact as this black oil is extremely disastrous for the environment. However, the low-sulphur high-speed diesel or white oil does not cause any damage to the environment as it gets evaporated when it comes in contact with the atmosphere. But we have taken all the necessary measures to face any eventuality.”