Oil will reach the shore, depending on the force of the current

by Manjula FERNANDO and Dhaneshi YATAWARA

MV Thermopylae Sierra has a 15,612 gross tonage. It was built in 1985 and registered in Limassol, Cyprus. The ship was anchored in the outer anchorage of Colombo Port near Panadura since 2007 due to an unsettled dispute between the ship owners and the cargo owner and various other disputes with other parties including the workers.

Around 207 metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil was removed from the ship by the Ministry of Ports in June, 2012. According to the Directorate General of Merchant Shipping 23 metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil remains in the ship wreck. Meanwhile, the ship sank around 11 a.m. on August 23, 2012 at latitude 06 degrees 47.16 South and longitude 079 Degrees 50.158 East.

Chairman of NARA Dr. S.G. Samarasundara

The dead fish found in the sea off the Wellawatte coastal line were not due to the oil leakage according to the research done by the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) Chairman Dr. S.G. Samarasundara said that there was not a small number of dead fish scattered on the sea surface. "We were continuing with our research to find the real cause yet with the results so far gained the cause has not been directed towards pollution," Dr. Samarasundara said.

"In fact the NARA through the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Rajitha Senaratne informed Cabinet six months ago about the urgency to remove the ship, Cyprus-flagged MV Thermopylae Sierra, to a safer location," he said.

NARA is the principal National Institute charged with the responsibility of carrying out and coordinating research, development and management activities on the subject of Aquatic Resources in Sri Lanka.

The main objective was to face the challenges offered by the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which Sri Lanka was endowed with, as an outcome of the third United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea.

"We keep a 24-hour watch over the affected marine environment and ready to take any necessary action if need arises," he added.

In the recent past, NARA took several decisions not to salvage certain ship wrecks located around the island. Chairman Dr. Samarasundara explaining their position said that this will not be applicable to all such ship wrecks. "If archaeological experts value certain wrecks and if some provide a safe breeding ground for fish and has an aesthetic value we recommend it to be kept as it is under the sea. In assessing we consider the shipwreck's importance towards fishing, tourism or to archaeology," he added.

The Inter-ministerial Committee on this matter is the sole authority in taking the final decision. The Committee consists of representatives from all the line ministries and departments such as the NARA, Marine Environment Pollution Prevention Authority (MEPA), Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development, Economic Development Ministry and Tourist Board.

"If the shipwreck is a disturbance to the area, specially to the fishing industry damaging nets and boats we recommend it to be removed," Dr. Samarasundara explained.

Director General of Merchant Shipping Ajith Seneviratne

The Directorate General of Merchant Shipping of the Ministry of Ports and Highways is the shipping administration arm of Sri Lanka and has the overall responsibility for overseeing maritime concerns.

According to Ajith Seneviratne, the Director General of Merchant Shipping the MV Thermopylae Sierra ship was carrying around 230 metric tons of heavy fuel oil.

"Considering the threat to the marine environment Ministry officials took steps two months ago to quickly remove pumpable heavy oil. Thus we removed around 207 metric tons," Seneviratne explained.

"As a result a major environment pollution was averted," he said. The Ministry has taken necessary action in coordination with the MEPA, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Disaster Management Centre to monitor the situation in future and to take necessary action as need arises, according to Seneviratne.

"As Sri Lanka is located next to a busy ship route that connects Europe and the Far East it will be important to have an established response system to avert any disasters," Seneviratne explained. A large number of ships pass Sri Lanka though the number depends on the world trade patterns.

Director General of MEPA Rear Admiral S.R.Samaratunga

Marine Environment Protection Authority said that Government level discussions are going on to develop a Pollution Response System for the Sri Lankan marine environment. According to Rear Admiral S.R. Samaratunga, Director General of the Marine Environment Protection Authority said that oil would not reach the coast unless there was a change in the direction of ocean currents due to climatic changes. Oil reaching the shore depends on the direction of the water currents, wind speed and the strength of the waves. There are legal provisions for Sri Lanka to claim damages from the owners and thus MEPA will be taking legal action against the ship owners. According to the Ministry of Environment, MEPA jointly with the Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka Navy and the Department of Coast Guards are taking action to remove oil washed ashore.

The environmental activist and Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena confirmed that the damage from the sunken cargo ship, MV Thermopylae Sierra, had been minimal since there were no major oil leakage as feared by the environmentalists to cause grave damage to the marine life and disturb the coastal environment in a major way.

"The oil that has leaked reached the shore as globules, not as a thick layer. This has minimized the damage," Gunawardena said.

He said but if the oil reached the shore as a thick coating which could have covered the corals,sand and the water, the damage could have been beyond estimation.

If the present weather conditions prevail for sometime the oil slick will float away, without any effect to the country but if a situation like an atmospheric depression, resulting in stormy weather is to develop the situation can change for the worse.

Such weather condition could cause the floating oil to reach the country's coastline and as the meteorology experts have also warned, rough seas could damage the hull of the sunken ship and cause an environmental disaster.

The Disaster Management Centre has set up three district emergency response units in Kalutara, Colombo and Gampaha, which are the three highly vulnerable districts to be affected by the drifting oil slick from MV Thermopylae Sierra.

Disaster Management Centre Spokesperson Sarath Lal Kumara told the Sunday Observer that they were ready with a 500 strong volunteer force if MEPA and the Coast Conservation Department was in need of any emergency response assistance."Our team consist of volunteers from Army, Navy, Police and the civil society. We have links with the Met Department on the weather situation and our desk is constantly monitoring the evolvingsituation."

Fourteen districts share the coastline of the country, if a possible oil leakage is reported from the sunken ship and if any of the 14 districts are to be affected the DMC is prepared to help MEPA and CCD, he added.