No action yet against ship over Sundarbans oil spill

No action has been taken yet against oil tanker ‘OT Southern Star 7’, which had spilled a huge quantity of oil in the Sundarbans' Shela River in December last year, the shipping minister has told Parliament.

Replying to a question, Shajahan Khan said on Wednesday the government was waiting for investigation committee’s reports on the incident.

“No legal action has been taken against the owner, sailor and crew of the oil tanker, which sank in the Sundarbans’ Shela River. Investigations into the ship capsize are going on,” he said.

Actions would be taken against those found responsible for the accident after getting the investigation reports, the minister added.

The Ministry of Shipping and the Forest Department constituted two committees to probe the spill of more than 350,000 litres of furnace oil in the Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage site, after the tanker sank on Dec 9.

The government claims that the oil spill has not caused much harm to the mangrove forest, its plants and aquatic resources though a disaster was apprehended there.

Though the environment ministry opposed movements of vessels through the Shela River, it was due to shipping ministry’s pressure the route was reopened a month after the mishap.

“Around four hundred vessels got stranded on both sides of the river after the route was closed and the owners and workers of those vessels were planning agitations.

“So the route was temporarily reopened. The route will be closed after the dredging work on Mongla-Ghasiyakhali channel will be over by June,” the minister, who is also a transport workers’ leader, said.