News Brief | January 2016
Gujarat to prepare plan to handle possible oil spills
In view of the possibility of oil spill in the sea near Gujarat coast due to heavy traffic of ships, the State Forest and Environment department has decided to prepare a risk mitigation and response plan to save the fragile eco-system and underwater habitat of marine species.
According to officials, a high-level committee will be formed to study the risk potential of oil spill, which can be a major ecological disaster for marine life, and come up with a comprehensive plan suggesting ways to avoid such disasters.
More than 5,000 ships loaded with various material, including crude oil, arrive at various ports in Gujarat every year. A recent resolution passed by Forest department has alarmed that heavy movement of ships carrying petroleum products pose a risk of oil spill, which would adversely affect marine ecology and species such as mangroves, corals, whale shark, dugongs, dolphins etc.