Asia/Pacific News
Tanker Collision That Led to Chennai Bunker Spill Result Of "Human Error"
The cause of the collision between two tankers off Chennai which led to a bunker spill has been ruled as "human error," local media reports.
As Ship & Bunker reported, two tankers, the MT BW Maple and the MT Dawn Kanchipuram, collided at Chennai's Kamarajar Port at around 4 a.m. on January 28.
"It is an unfortunate incident caused by human error. The government is making all efforts to remove the oil slick from the sea," said State Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar Monday
Authorities say that just minutes before the two ships collided the pilot of the BW Maple warned the vessel from a port control room that it could collide with MT Dawn Kanchipuram, but there was no communication between the two ships.
Yesterday, Ship & Bunker reported that clean up of the spill was still underway, with clean up crews said to have collected around 100 tonnes of sludge and oil so far.
"The leakage from the ship has been totally arrested. Both the vessels (cargo ships) are right now under the custody of Kamarajar Port Ltd," said Jayakumar Monday.