Orissa oil slick threatens Ridley turtles

A global tender will be floated to pump the stored oil out of a Mongolian ship that sank off Orissa’s Paradip port September 9, but the process could take up to a month, port officials said yesterday.

A wildlife society is concerned that the delay could harm the breeding ground of Olive Ridley turtles.

“We have decided to float a global tender to pump out oil from the sunken ship. Since in India there are few companies having scientific expertise in pumping out oil from a sunken ship, we have decided to float the tender,” Paradip Port deputy chairman Biplav Kumar said yesterday.

“We are following several legal and official procedures...the tendering process will take some days,” he said.

“It is a long process. It takes time. We will have to give some time for completing the work, which may take about 20-30 days,” Kumar said.

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“The migratory Olive Ridley sea turtles are expected to arrive by the month-end and it would be a disaster if these materials pollute the area before their arrival,” Mohanty warned.

A section of the media on Monday said the ship had spilled oil and a thick film of black crude oil was visible on the sea near Paradip and that dead fish lay scattered on the shore.

But the port trust said the spill was from the service tank of the engine room and was negligible.

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