After an collision incident between two cargo vessels, causing oil spill at Kamarajar Port last month, Chennai Port Trust has said that is taking steps to increase oil spill response capacity, planning to get a new oil spill response vessel into service, local media report.
The new vessel will be an addition the existing oil spill response vessel ‘Prestige’ which could contain 100 tonnes of oil spill. The additional vessel is said to help boost the measures to contain the oil spill.
Furthermore, Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel Varad, which has played a crucial role during the oil spill,is about to retire in March and replaced by a new vessel.
According to a Chennai Port official the port is planning to procure flex barges containing 40 tonnes of spillage in the case of another spilll.
The Coast Guard says that the Director General of Shipping had made it mandatory for all ports to have space for storing pollution response equipment.
