Oil spill still a threat to turtles,says Greenpeace

Three days after an oil spill from the Essar-owned coking coal-laden vessel MV Malavika near Gopalpur port of Orissa,leading environmental NGO Greenpeace claimed the Olive Ridley turtle nesting site might still be under threat.

MV Malavika,sailing from Indonesia,hit a barge at Gopalpur port in Ganjam district on April 12 resulting in spillage of 8 tonnes of furnace oil. Senior Ganjam district officials had,after meetings with the Coast Guard,Orissa Pollution Control Board and Fisheries Department,claimed that the spillage had been effectively contained.

But Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner Ashish Fernandes countered this,saying,“lakhs of hatchlings are due to emerge from their nests within a few weeks,and toxins in their environment could have seriously affect them….” Fernandes said such instances are set to increase with massive port expansion planned near Orissa’s turtle habitats.

Officials had said the spillage could have affected the eggs had the incident happened at the time of hatching.