Lok Sabha Question No. 148 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Marine Oil Spills
Ministry: PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS
Asked by: Shashi Tharoor

## GOVERNIVIENT  OF INDIA MINISTRY  OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION NO.  '148

ANSWERED ON 1110212022

## MARINE OIL SPILLS

## -148-  DR, SHASHI THAROOR:

## Will  the l\ilinister  of PORTS,  SHIPPING  AND WATERWAYS be pleased  to state: qfi , qld qft'qE{  Gfu  qmqFf  d*

- (a) whether the Government has identified  potential marine oil spill spots off the coast of Kerala;
- (b) if so, the details  thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government  has identified spots for fishing off the coast of Kerala which remain vulnerable to potential  oil spills, if so, the details  thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  the Government  has the record  of marine oil spills, greater than 100 litres, by volume of oil spilled and total volume of sludge recovered off the coast of Kerala within the territorial  waters and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;  and
- (e) whether the Government  has invested in technological  advancements for improving  recovery of oil spills,  if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF PORTS, SHIPPING AND WATERWAYS (SHRI SARBANANDA  SONOWAL)

- (a)  to  (e) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.148  tor 11.02.2022

- (a),(b)  &(c) NoSir. Potential  marine oil spill spots and spots for fishing  off the coast of Kerala vulnerable  to potential oil spills cannot  be identified  as accidents cannot  be pred  icted.
- (d) The record of marine oil spills, greater  than 100 litres off the coast of Kerala within the territorial waters  is maintained by lndian Coast Guard (lCG) and ICG has reported that no such incident  happened  in the last 15 years.
- (e) Steps taken by Government  for technological  advancements  for improving recovery of oil spills include
- (i) Pollution Response Teams (PRTS) established by lndian Coast Guard (lCG) at Mumbai, Chennai, Port Blair and Vadinar to deal with any potential marine oil spill incident along the entire  coastline of lndia.
- (ii) PRTS  hold Pollution Response PR Equipment such as different types of booms, skimmers,  barges, dracones etc to respond to any Pollution Response (PR) incident in their Area of Responsibility (AOR) and also for subsequent recovery of spilled oil. They also impart PR Training to personnel of lCG, Ports Oil Handling  Agencies and Coastal  States/UTs.
- (iii) ICG has commissioned  three dedicated  Pollution  Response Vessels (PRVS) to deal with any potential  marine  oil spill incident along the entire coast line of lndia. These vessels  are equipped  with recovery equipment like Booms,  Skimmers  etc.
- (iv) Offshore Patrol  Vessls (OPVs)/Fast  Patrol Vessels  (FPvs)/lnterceptor  Boats (lBs)  with PR configuration are always  available  for recovery  of spilled oil on the sea surface during  any oil spill incident  along the entire  coastline  of lndia.

(v) The Coast Guard aircraft are fitted with advance pollution monitoring  device Maritime Surveillance System MSS 5000 which has the capability  to locate oil spills even at night with the help of onboard fitted infrared and ultraviolet  cameras. This helps in assessment of spilled  oil on the sea surface even during night which facilitates  early recovery  of oil from the sea surface.

(vi) The Coast Guard Helicopters  carry TC-3 bucket to spray Oil Spill Dispersant (OSD) that disintegrates  the oil floating over the sea water, thereby obviating the need of recovery of spilled oil from the sea surface.

(vii) The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft are equipped with Spray Pods for spraying osD over the spilled oil on the sea surface. As a result floating oil setfle down on the sea bed which eventually  deter the need to recover spilled oil from the sea surface.