Even after exactly a year of sinking of the ill-fated vessel-Black Rose off the coast of Paradip, the environmental woes posed by the sunken vessel seem to be far from over. In fact, the very presence of the vessel in the waters near the port has sparked fears of environmental damage.
An expert committee constituted under the chairmanship of noted marine scientist Pratap Mohanty has warned of break water problem due to the presence of the vessel situated nearly five km from the shore which may lead to sand erosion at Bhitarkanika and Kharnasi areas, thereby impacting the nesting habits of the famed Olive Ridley turtles.
"Even though oil has been completely evacuated from the vessel, its very presence is a cause of concern. The vessel is situated perpendicular to the shore and breakwater problem may arise because of this positioning of the vessel. The expert committee headed by Mohanty has pointed out that the presence of the vessel may lead to sand erosion, thereby affecting the nesting habits of the Olive Ridley turtles”, an official source told Business Standard.
The Orissa government, which is keen on rooting out this problem at the earliest, has alerted the authorities of Paradip Port Trust (PPT) and officials of Coast Guard on the issue.
Even though the state government had asked the PPT authorities to take action on the matter and remove the vessel, they have been silent on the issue, said Bhagirathi Behera, director (environment), Orissa government.
The committee headed by Mohanty had visited the site of sinking of the vessel in November last year and had submitted its report to the state government on January 21 this year.Black Rose which sank about five km off the coast of Paradip on September 9, was carrying 23847 tonnes of iron ore, 45 tonnes of diesel and 921 tonnes of furnace oil.
