August 14, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-us-Sani 15, 1424

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KARACHI, Aug 13: The operations to salvage the stranded Greek-registered oil tanker, now carrying about 50,000 tons of crude oil, were stopped on Wednesday following the detection of a crack in its bottom by the salvage personnel.

In view of the latest developments, the law-enforcement authorities closed the 14-kilometre coastline for the public. About 1,000 policemen were deployed to close the roads leading up to the beach to vehicular traffic.

According to maritime sources, salvage experts and authorities at the Karachi Port Trust lost all hopes on Wednesday with regard to the tanker Tasman Spirit, grounded outside Karachi Channel on July 27, as they were quite certain that the ship was about to break up.

“The environmental catastrophe is now a matter of time and we should pray for lesser damages,” said an official involved in salvage operations. Another official stated that since the morning a buckling action was being witnessed as a result of which the crack had widened.

The chairman of the KPT, Vice Admiral Ahmad Hayat, during a briefing of media men at Keamari in the afternoon, said the next 12 to 14 hours were crucial.

The tanker, which had been carrying about 67,000 tons of crude oil for the PNSC from Emirates, had been a source of concern for the Karachiites as it started discharging oil immediately after running aground near the beach late last month.

On Wednesday a sense of panic prevailed not only among the officials handling the situation or monitoring the coastal ecosystem but also among those residing near the beach. The people of the area anticipated a host of problems and diseases in the shape of uncontrolled flow of oil from the tanker that could ultimately reach parts of the Defence Housing Authority, Clifton and Port Qasim.

Talking to Dawn late in the night, Vice Admiral Ahmad Hayat said the ship was under constant surveillance by KPT boats and reports showed that the crack was widening very slowly and not at a pace earlier apprehended.

“The rate of oil spillage is also slow and it is hoped that by the time the situation turns critical, the KPT will be in a position to fight a fire, and combat pollution.”

He said an aircraft loaded with pollution-control equipment, including booms, had already arrived here from England, and a C-130 aircraft from Singapore was due on Thursday night with 10 tonnes of chemical dispersant. Another dispatch of 250 tonnes of dispersant would be arriving on Friday.

Mr Hayat said a C-130 craft would begin spraying dispersant on Friday morning. He said efforts were being made to save the marine ecosystem and overall environment along the coastal line, and as such people should not get panicked.

Near the ship a thick oil slick has been visible since the last two weeks, which belied the official claims that the leakage was minor, intermittent and under control, said the people visiting Clifton and Seaview areas.

A resident of Clifton said that in contrast to the previous nights, the lights of the tanker were off on Wednesday night. Talking to Dawn after hearing of the reports about the anticipated splitting of the ship, a number of citizens urged the government and authorities concerned to take measures to contain the crude oil likely to spill over in the days to come.

They criticized the role of the KPT and said it had been covering up its failures to check the oil spill from the ship and allegedly kept giving incorrect information about salvage operations.

It is likely that marine life and mangrove forest would be affected badly as the concerned organizations did not posses adequate equipment and machines to deal with any major oil spill. In a situation when the tug and boats were already not daring to move towards the ill-fated ship, only dropping of the dispersant from air could help, but that too was unavailable, said insiders.

Meanwhile, the ship has been abandoned while a crisis management committee involving people from different agencies had been formed by the KPT chairman, said a source, adding that some shipment of damage control devices from abroad was awaited.

It was claimed by the KPT officials that precautionary measures to save other ships in the sea had been ordered and it was unlikely that any interruption in sea traffic would occur in case the tanker split.

The adviser to the chief minister of Sindh on environment and alternative energy, Faisal Malik, after his visit to the affected site along with SEPA officials held the KPT responsible for the fiasco. He said the oil tanker was going to explode and any disaster should be attributed to the KPT which, according to him, failed to handle the situation and take appropriate measures in time.

He said the EPA had already communicated to different bodies, including the police, KDA, city government and DHA, of the unfolding disaster. The EPA had no direct role in the issue, but it could create awareness about the problem, he added.

Sources in the EPA said that among others, DHA had also been asked to take precautionary measures, including temporary evacuation of residents from area likely to be affected in case of high pollution.

However, citizens worried over the situation, held the KPT and SEPA responsible for the mess. They failed to coordinate and move the provincial and federal government in time, as it is obvious that they were short of anti-pollution instruments, said a citizen from Gulshan-e-Iqbal, adding that they got enough time to import expertise and equipment of their needs, but failed to act accordingly.

At a press conference the KPT chairman claimed that about 20,000 tons of oil had been shifted from the ship Tasman Spirit to other ships as a part of the salvage process. He said that the ship had developed visible cracks and it might split from the middle.

The International Tankers Association, federal and provincial governments and their respective environmental protection agencies, fisheries department and maritime security agency have all been informed about the situation, he said.

Referring to the salvage operations, he said the tugs of Pakistan Navy and KPT failed to pull out the grounded cargo tanker. He said the booms laid around the ship were pushed away by the high monsoon tide.

He added that booms were being laid down around the ship to avoid spillage of oil in a large area, while on the other hand an additional equipment was due from England to control oil spillage. He said a C-130 plane was also due from Singapore carrying dispersant chemicals to spray over the sea to control oil pollution.

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