Authorities struggle with grounded oil tanker

An oil tanker grounded off the coast of the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi since late July continues to leak as efforts to contain the damage intensify, according to a scientist. "The Tasman Spirit continues to leak some small quantities of oil," Dr Karen Purnell, a scientist with the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), told IRIN from Karachi on Tuesday. A non-profit-making organisation, ITOPF is funded by the majority of the world’s shipowners to provide technical services, usually focusing on oil spills. Local authorities, including the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), had prioritised the safety of the mangroves south of the grounding site, she said. The ship ran aground on 28 July and is thought to have spilled at least 12,000 mt of oil. Another 20,000 mt was siphoned off by salvage ships before it broke apart last Thursday. Thirty-five thousand mt remained on board, as barges were brought alongside to attempt to drain it off into other ships. Worried about the potential impact on Karachi’s fisheries and thick mangrove forests, environmentalists have blamed Karachi's port authorities for responding tardily to the incident and questioned the implementation of aerial spray regimens suggested by international consultants to control and minimise the damage to the densely populated shoreline. "Everything has pluses and minuses," Purnell said, pointing out that the dispersant sprayed on the spill was degradable and would to some extent serve to reduce the damage caused by the oil already in the water. However, aerial sprays on oceanic oil spills were not normally carried out so close to a coastline, she said. "We have done so only to protect the mangroves, to prevent the oil from reaching them." An official of the KPT, which has been at the forefront of coordinating cleanup operations, concurred. "The aerial sprays have been very effective, but we’ve held them up for a while because we can’t see oil pools big enough to warrant dispersants from aircraft," Brig Iftikhar Arshad, who manages the port, told IRIN from Karachi. Boat sprays of a composition slightly different from their aerial counterparts, were being used now, he added. Other vessels, which had periodically hove to alongside the Tasman Spirit, had successfully drained off up to 6,550 mt by Monday, Arshad said. "We have barges in position alongside the grounded ship which, as the pumping operation goes along, should enable us to remove another 6,500 tonnes by tomorrow," he added. However, Arshad declined to give the all-clear, describing the damage already caused by the original spill as significant enough for the residual effects to linger for some time. "As yet, I wouldn’t say that we’re in the clear right now. We’ve got to resort to beach-cleaning; we will need to wash the entire Clifton beach. It will take some days before we can make a comprehensive damage assessment," he said. Residents along the stretch of beach worst hit by the oil spill had been forced to move out of houses too close to the sand which, covered with thick layers of oil, had started emitting fumes causing nausea and headaches, local doctors said. "Breathing disorders, which are simple to start with, might exacerbate because of the exposure to fumes from crude oil," Dr Iqbal Yasin, an emergency physician at the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, told IRIN, adding that infections of the skin and eyes could also result from prolonged exposure.