August 2003 - Karachi oil spill, Pakistan
2 September 2003
On Monday September 1, the Pakistan authorities announced that a salvage team had drained all the crude left in the vessel.
About 37,500 tonnes have been emptied in a 15-day operation, while some 28,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the sea.
The stricken tanker had continued to spew oil into the sea throughout the salvage operation.
Adverse weather conditions also slowed down efforts to siphon off the oil.
A 15-kilometre stretch of beach remains smothered in oil, and provincial Environment Minister, Faisal Malik told the BBC that the clean-up could take three years or more.
Many local people have been complaining of nausea, headaches and other adverse reactions to the oil.
Sea life has also been badly affected by the spill, with the oil-sodden carcasses of marine animals washing up on Karachi's shores.
29 August 2003
The rear section of the grounded tanker Tasman Spirit has developed a five degree tilt which is alarming as it will lead to further oil spill. Rough weather conditions pose additional threat to the precarious position of the tanker. Oil is now being transferred from the front section of Tasman Spirit while some oil is also being shifted to the rear section due to the low holding capacity of the new salvage vessel.
Up till now, approx 24,000 to 26,000 tonnes of oil has spilled in the sea since the tanker ran aground on 27th July.
The new rescue vessel, Sea Angel, with a capacity of 6,500 tonnes of oil has arrived at the Karachi port and will resume the operation from today.
So far, approx, 34,500 tonnes of oil has been off loaded from the Tasman Spirit since the start of the operation. The tanker still carries approx. 8000 to 9000 tonnes of oil which will take another 4 days to be transferred.
26 August 2003
The PNS Gawador ferried another 500 tonnes of oil from the Tasman Spirit to the Endeavour 2 on Monday. According to KPT sources, the naval ship (PNS Gawador) and barges will ferry approx. 2,000 tonnes of oil in one full day.
Aerial spray of dispersants was not carried out on Monday 25th August, 2003, as experts considered it unnecessary. Tugs and boats continued to spray chemicals to disintegrate concentration of oil in the affected area.
25 August 2003
Pumping of the Tasman Spirit's remaining oil stopped...and resumed
The transfer of 18,000 tonnes of oil from the Tasman Spirit to the Fair Jolly, in operation for about a week, was stopped for a couple of days due to heavy winds and rough sea. It resumed on Sunday 24 August (yesterday).
Problems for the rescue vessel Fair Jolly
However, a hole was found in the Fair Jolly's keel. Used to transfer the oil from the tanker to a port facility, the Fair Jolly can no longer participate in the salvage operation. The ship PNS Gwadar, with an oil carrying capacity of 500 tonnes and a barge with a capacity of 200 tonnes are now being used in the operation. The Fair Jolly had a carrying capacity of 8,000 tonnes of oil. At the present pace, it will take one week to complete the salvage operation. However, to speed it up a barge with a carrying capacity of 1,000 tonnes should be soon added.
Beach cleanup operations slow down
Experts advised to slow down the beach cleanup operations, as new oil slicks keep coming to the beach and reduce previous cleanup efforts to nothing.
20 August 2003
Oil Leakage
According to sources from the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), no major leakage from the grounded Tasman Spirit was observed yesterday. The Pakistani government authorities have reported that the ship is stable. Confirmed leakage since Friday is 12,000 tonnes of oil.
Pumping of the Tasman Spirit's remaining oil is progressing smoothly
Pumping of the Tasman Spirit's remaining oil is progressing. Some 7,000 tonnes of oil were pumped on Tuesday from the tanker. The total amount of oil removed during the first 3 days of the pumping operations comes to approx. 14,000 tonnes.
Dispersants used again
Meanwhile, dispersants are being used again. They are sprayed from tugs now. The two dispersants being used are Corevit - 9500 and Super Dispersant - 25. According to Dr Karen Purnell, Head of experts from Oil Spill Response Ltd. "the dispersants used so far are biodegradable and will not harm the mangroves, other vegetation or marine life."
19 August 2003
Pumping of the Tasman Spirit's remaining oil has started
Increase in the concentration of oil reaching the shoreline of Karachi has been reported today. The main reason is a change in the wind direction. Meanwhile, 6,550 tonnes of the remaining 35,000 tonnes of oil in the tanker Tasman Spirit have been pumped to the rescue vessel Fair Jolly, and transferred to a port facility. It has taken 36 hours to complete the whole operation. It might take 10 days to complete the entire procedure.
No more dispersants sprayed
The aerial spray of dispersants carried out since Sunday has stopped as the Karachi Port Trust issued a statement saying that for the time being the use of dispersants is not needed.
Beach cleanup efforts
A team of 12 foreign experts participating in the rescue efforts has advised against the use of heavy machinery to clean the beach, and the operations have slowed down, to prevent the destruction of the natural sandy structure of the beach soil. According to this team, between 300 and 1,500 tonnes of crude oil have come ashore so far. This is considered as low scale damage because as yet only a small zone has been affected. The experts say that the oil has not soaked more than 1 cm into the sand.
Dispersants used to fight the oil spill
Approximately 6000 litres of dispersants have been sprayed so far by the Singaporean C -130 aircraft over the polluted sea.
Cleanup operations have started
Cleanup operations have started along the devastated 16 km of coastline, littered with dead fish, crabs and other sea creatures.
Pumping of the remaining oil will start soon
A rescue vessel, the Fair Jolly, having a carrying capacity of 8,000 tonnes of oil is anchored along the marooned ship, Tasman Spirit.
Experts have installed generators, pipes and connecting equipment to start the transfer operation. Authorities are awaiting a favorable tide to start the transfer of oil.
According to the Karachi Port Trust, it would take at least 36 hours to transfer the first 8,000 tonnes of oil to the Fair Jolly. They further stated that 10 days would be needed to transfer all 35,000 tonnes to a port facility. The salvage crew is using tug boats to ensure that the Tasman Spirit does not break further.
15 August 2003
Rescue efforts are under way by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and a C -130 aircraft is en route from Singapore with 10 tonnes of chemical dispersant.
Concerns have been raised that the relevant agencies in Pakistan currently lack adequate equipment and manpower to handle such a situation.
In reality, although several relatively minor oil spills have occurred in the recent past, inadequate attention has been paid to the effective implementation of a contingency plan.
“The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has developed an Oil Spill Contingency Plan in this regard, but still has a long way towards its full implementation. The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) has also developed a draft marine oil spill contingency plan, but it is yet to be finalized, documented and implemented,” remarked Hammad Naqi Khan, Director Environmental Pollution Unit, WWF – Pakistan.
