The oil spill caused by the collision between two ships near to Kamarajar Port on Sunday has affected 34,000 square meters of sea off the Chennai coast, according to Rajan Bargotra, Inspector General, Indian Coast Guard. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Bargotra said massive operations have been taken up by Coast Guard staff in association with various agencies and environmentalist groups to remove the oil spills from the sea and the beach.
He said oil patches were found in five different places in Chennai coast and the sludge is being removed manually. Though it was announced earlier that about 20 tonnes of bunker oil have been discharged into the sea as a result od the collision, there are reports that the quantity of oil leaked could be much higher.