Oil Spill From Sunken Tanker
Firm fined Tk 10 lakh
Department of Environment (DoE) here yesterday realised Tk 10 lakh in fine from Eastern Bunker Services, the owning firm of oil tanker OT Moon, which sank into Karnaphuli River on Saturday, for spilling oil and polluting the river.
DoE also confiscated the tanker, which could not be salvaged till filing of this report around 6:30pm yesterday.
A DoE team led by its Director (Enforcement) Munir Chowdhury during one and a half hour visit on the river till 9:30am yesterday found oil floating on an area around 50,000 square metres, said the team sources.
Munir said the water samples they collected had an oxygen content of 3.4 milligram per litre, 15 percent less than normal level, while oil and grease were found in concentrations of 25 milligram per litre.
The owners paid the full amount of fine after appearing before the court in the afternoon.
However, Eastern Bunker Services failed to show any document regarding the destination of the 170 tonnes of furnace oil it loaded on Saturday, Munir added.
The 85-feet oil tanker, built in 1998, was illegally plying as its survey certificate expired on May 11, said Munir, adding that most of the inland vessels plying in the jetty area are unfit and have no valid survey certificate.
He also held the system of providing survey certificates to vessels as faulty.
Abul Kalam Azad, proprietor of Hiramoni Salvage Limited, the private firm appointed by the tanker's owners, hoped to salvage the tanker by today.
CPA Environment Management Unit stopped its cleaning activities around 4:00pm yesterday, claiming that the spill was successfully cleared.
The unit Director Captain AFM Faridul Alam said they extracted around 70 tonnes of oil waste from the river with the help of three sea-waste cleaners in last two days.
He admitted that the oil spread over an area stretching from Marine Academy to Sadarghat jetty.
He, however, said the oil did not spread to sea as they laid a rubber fence on the water with the help of the port's buoy lifting vessel Lusai.
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