Star Report
An
oil tanker carrying 3.58 lakh litres of furnace oil sank in a
Sundarbans river near Mongla early yesterday, spilling oil over a vast
area of the mangrove forest.
If the spill that continued till last night could not be contained, it might deal a serious blow to the biodiversity of the mangrove forest, say experts.
Oil had already spread over a 20-kilometre stretch covering Joymuni Gol, Andharmanik and Nandobala from Mrigamari in the Shela river where the tanker, Southern Star-7, went down around 5:00 am.
“Mrigamari in the Sundarbans is a sanctuary for dolphins. It is tough to determine what kind of disaster the accident would bring to the vulnerable Sundarbans,” said Amir Hossain Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of Chandpai (Eastern Range) of the Sundarbans.
It would leave a severe impact on the aquatic animals and fishes of the Sundarbans, he said.
The
Department of Forest, which lacks logistics to deal with such
situation, could do nothing to stop oil from spreading through the river
and canal networks of the mangrove forest.
Of the eight crew of Southern Star-7, master Mokhlesur Rahman remained missing while the other seven swam ashore.
A team of coastguards and forest officials went to the spot to search for the missing crew, said Mehedi Masud, commander of Mongla Coast Guard (west zone).
The tanker went down after a cargo vessel hit it from behind.
Southern Star-7, which was carrying oil to Gopalganj from Khulna Padma Oil Depot, anchored at Joymoni Ghol in the Sundarbans due to dense fog on Monday night, Md Giasuddin, owner of the tanker, told The Daily Star.
Fearing such accident, environmentalists have been demanding that the government must ensure that no vessels ply through the Sundarbans.
Though it is illegal for commercial vessels to ply though protected forests, hundreds of vessels have been using the Shela river as an alternative route for the last few years since the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel lost navigability.
Hit
by a cargo vessel, an oil tanker sinking in the Shela river at Joymoni
Ghola of the east range of the Sundarbans early yesterday. Photo: Star
If the spill that continued till last night could not be contained, it might deal a serious blow to the biodiversity of the mangrove forest, say experts.
Oil had already spread over a 20-kilometre stretch covering Joymuni Gol, Andharmanik and Nandobala from Mrigamari in the Shela river where the tanker, Southern Star-7, went down around 5:00 am.
“Mrigamari in the Sundarbans is a sanctuary for dolphins. It is tough to determine what kind of disaster the accident would bring to the vulnerable Sundarbans,” said Amir Hossain Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of Chandpai (Eastern Range) of the Sundarbans.
It would leave a severe impact on the aquatic animals and fishes of the Sundarbans, he said.
Oil spilled from the tanker. Photo: Star
Of the eight crew of Southern Star-7, master Mokhlesur Rahman remained missing while the other seven swam ashore.
A team of coastguards and forest officials went to the spot to search for the missing crew, said Mehedi Masud, commander of Mongla Coast Guard (west zone).
The tanker went down after a cargo vessel hit it from behind.
Southern Star-7, which was carrying oil to Gopalganj from Khulna Padma Oil Depot, anchored at Joymoni Ghol in the Sundarbans due to dense fog on Monday night, Md Giasuddin, owner of the tanker, told The Daily Star.
Fearing such accident, environmentalists have been demanding that the government must ensure that no vessels ply through the Sundarbans.
Though it is illegal for commercial vessels to ply though protected forests, hundreds of vessels have been using the Shela river as an alternative route for the last few years since the Mongla-Ghasiakhali channel lost navigability.
Cargo
vessels and oil tankers sail across the Shela river crisscrossing the
Sundarbans, posing a risk of ecological disaster to the world's largest
mangrove forest through spill of oil and other harmful substances and
sound pollution that can scare away wild animals. Photo: Anisur Rahman
Published: 12:01 am Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Last modified: 12:46 am Wednesday, December 10, 2014
