Asia/Pacific News
Delta Shipping Fined Over 2011 Bunker Spill
India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) Wednesday fined Delta Shipping Marine Services SA (Delta Shipping) Rs 100 crore ($14.9 million) and Adani Enterprises Ltd. (Adani) Rs 5 crore ($745,000) for environmental pollution caused when the MV RAK sank about 20 nautical miles of the coast of Mumbai in 2011.
The vessel, which was underway from Indonesia to Dahej, Gujarat, is said to have been carrying 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 tonnes of diesel at the time it sunk, as well as a cargo of over 60,054 metric tonnes (mt) of coal for Adani.
A bunker spill stemming from the sunken vessel is said to have spread across the Maharashtra coastline, extending from Mumbai to Raigad, affecting both human and marine life.
Adani is understood to have requested that its name be removed as a contending party, arguing that its cargo played no role in the incident,
NGT has ordered Delta Shipping to remove the sunken vessel within 6 months, if possible, and has developed a committee to determine the feasibility the ship's removal and to set additional fines for pollution related to the wreck.
Last year, the Government of India approved the Ministry of Shipping's proposal to ratify the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage that it said would "ensure that adequate, prompt, and effective compensation is available to persons who suffer damage caused by spills of oil, when carried as fuel in ships' bunkers."
