The Puri district administration has asked the owner of Malaysian cargo vessel JIN HWA 32, which has run aground near the Chilika lake since August 9, to shift the ship from the shore within seven days. The administration has also directed the ship owner to complete the ongoing removal of oil from the vessel in two days.
The oil removal process, which started on Wednesday, continued for the second day on Thursday. There is no danger to the ecosystem of the lake as the ship’s engine is safe and no leakage of oil has been reported so far.
Oil is being removed through pipes in phases and stored in tankers at a fishing jetty of the Chilika Development Authority.
Earlier, the Coast Guard had raised concern over possible spill of oil from the vessel. It had apprised the State Government about the threat to the eco-sensitive zones of Chilika lake and the Odisha coast in general due to possible oil leak from the ship which contained 30,000 litres of diesel, 1000 litres of lube oil and 200 litres of hydraulic oil.
Notably, the Malaysian cargo ship, which was heading towards Visakhapatnam, had drifted towards the Odisha coast due to a storm in the Bay of Bengal. The ship has been anchored near the Rajhans island close to the Chilika lake in the Krushnaprasad area of Puri district since then.