Sunk tanker: No cause for alarm

Chaminda PERERA

The Marine Pollution Prevention Authority yesterday confirmed that there will be no major impact on the environment due to the sinking of the Turkish ship carrying 6,250 Mt of Sulphuric acid off the Sri Lankan maritime border.

According to Authority Chairman Ranjitha Kularatne, this disabled ship sank at a depth of over 3,500 metres off the Sri Lankan maritime border where there is no fish breeding ground.

He said the Sri Lanka Navy together with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority have succeeded in towing this ship away from the fish breeding grounds off the Sri Lanka maritime boarder.

"The Sri Lanka Navy has confirmed to us that the ship sank completely in the deep sea by yesterday morning and the Authority officials are closely monitoring the changes in the sea off Trincomalee," he said.

The Sri Lanka Navy also informed about the ship to the Turkish authorities through diplomatic channels. However Kularatne did not rule out the possibility of an oil spill from the ship within a few days. "The sea off Trincomalee may sometimes be affected by the oil spill but that also depends on the water current and the wind," he said. "There are instance where oil has begun to leak from the ships 10 or 20 years after they sank in the sea. The oil leakage and the resultant environmental impact is totally dependent on damage to the ship and its oil storages," he said.

He said the environmental impact caused by the sinking of several ships and boats by the terrorists in the sea off Trincomalee is minimal and oil leaked from these ships have not caused any impact on the fish resources or the beaches in the area.

Kularatne said the Authority would take legal action against the local agent of the ship and the crew under criminal and civil arbitrary procedure. "The Authority is empowered to deal with those who are involved in the polluting of Sri Lankan territorial waters and the coastal belt," he said.

The 19 member crew of the ship were kept in custody of the ship's local agent till the Authority takes legal action against them through the Trincomalee Acting Magistrate on Tuesday.

The Turkish tanker MT Granba was heading for her next port of call in India when it developed defects.

The Navy launched a salvage operation to rescue the crew and the ship after it appeared on the radar screen.