Tanker fined Tk 3cr for oil spillage

The Department of Environment (DoE) levied a massive fine of Tk. 3 crore on oil tanker Desh-1 for polluting the Karnaphuli river through an accidental diesel spill. Chattogram DoE director Azadur Rahman Mallick imposed the penalty after a hearing, DOE assistant director Sangjukta Dasgupta told to The Independent yesterday. On Friday, the oil tanker Desh-1 hit City-38, a lighter vessel that was anchored at Padma jetty at the Chittagong port, causing a diesel spill in Karnaphuli river.  A DoE team visiting the accident site noted that at least 10 tonnes of diesel had spilled into the Karnaphuli.  However, the DoE environmental court did not place any penalties on the lighter vessel City-38, Das Gupta said.  A three-member probe committee, set up by the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) and led by Captain Abu Sayed Md Kamrul Alam, is scheduled to submit an incident report within a week.  Tides in the largest river in Chattogram have carried 10,000 litres of spilled diesel oil across 20 kilometres, threatening the biodiversity in the Karnaphuli by putting hundreds of fish species and endangered dolphins native to the river at serious risk.

Spilled diesel and other types of oil severely damage the food chain of a river or canal almost immediately after contamination. They are especially a threat to the ecology of the contaminated areas, environmentalists revealed, adding that it leads to irreparable loss to the environment.

Khulna-bound oil tanker Desh-1 hit the lighter vessel City-38 at around 3am, causing a leak in the third tank of the tanker. Owing to the high tide at the time, the oil spill quickly spread through the river. Clean-up vessels Bay Cleaner 1 and 2, Kandari-10 and 11, and Skimmer-1 and 2 had removed 8,000 litres of water mixed with oil until Saturday.

In July 2016, a collision between two oil tankers at the Chittagong port had led to a massive diesel spill of 150,000 litres in the Karnaphuli. On February 1 the same year, a vessel carrying palm oil was involved in an accident at the same port, spilling around 60,000 litres of oil in the river. Several oil spills were caused by accidents involving trains carrying furnace oil through areas such as Hathazari, the Karnaphuli river, and the Shikalbaha canal of Boalkhali. ‘Such incidents are happening frequently as the environmental department is not taking stern action. The oil spill is causing oxygen depletion in the water, which has led to breathing problems for dolphins, birds, and other aquatic species. Microbes and fish living at the top levels of the river will be wiped out,” said Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA).

Tanker fined Tk 3cr for oil spillage

The Department of Environment (DoE) levied a massive fine of Tk. 3 crore on oil tanker Desh-1 for polluting the Karnaphuli river through an accidental diesel spill. Chattogram DoE director Azadur Rahman Mallick imposed the penalty after a hearing, DOE assistant director Sangjukta Dasgupta told to The Independent yesterday. On Friday, the oil tanker Desh-1 hit City-38, a lighter vessel that was anchored at Padma jetty at the Chittagong port, causing a diesel spill in Karnaphuli river. A DoE team visiting the accident site noted that at least 10 tonnes of diesel had spilled into the Karnaphuli. However, the DoE environmental court did not place any penalties on the lighter vessel City-38, Das Gupta said. A three-member probe committee, set up by the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) and led by Captain Abu Sayed Md Kamrul Alam, is scheduled to submit an incident report within a week. Tides in the largest river in Chattogram have carried 10,000 litres of spilled diesel oil across 20 kilometres, threatening the biodiversity in the Karnaphuli by putting hundreds of fish species and endangered dolphins native to the river at serious risk. Spilled diesel and other types of oil severely damage the food chain of a river or canal almost immediately after contamination. They are especially a threat to the ecology of the contaminated areas, environmentalists revealed, adding that it leads to irreparable loss to the environment. Khulna-bound oil tanker Desh-1 hit the lighter vessel City-38 at around 3am, causing a leak in the third tank of the tanker. Owing to the high tide at the time, the oil spill quickly spread through the river. Clean-up vessels Bay Cleaner 1 and 2, Kandari-10 and 11, and Skimmer-1 and 2 had removed 8,000 litres of water mixed with oil until Saturday. In July 2016, a collision between two oil tankers at the Chittagong port had led to a massive diesel spill of 150,000 litres in the Karnaphuli. On February 1 the same year, a vessel carrying palm oil was involved in an accident at the same port, spilling around 60,000 litres of oil in the river. Several oil spills were caused by accidents involving trains carrying furnace oil through areas such as Hathazari, the Karnaphuli river, and the Shikalbaha canal of Boalkhali. Such incidents are happening frequently as the environmental department is not taking stern action. The oil spill is causing oxygen depletion in the water, which has led to breathing problems for dolphins, birds, and other aquatic species. Microbes and fish living at the top levels of the river will be wiped out, said Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA).