Mumbai: The oil spill off the Mumbai coast in early August has ravaged mangroves around the island that is home to the Elephanta Caves near the city's port and left a destructive trail along Navi Mumbai's coast in Vashi, a marine biologist said.
The spill occurred at the time of mangrove seeding with the oil leaching over a kilometre into mangrove areas along the Vashi Creek, Palm Beach Road and near Vashi railway station, he said.
"The maximum impact can be seen here since the tidal waters do not reach the interior everyday and the natural washing of mangroves is not prevalent," said Deepak Apte, Assistant Director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). He was speaking to reporters during a press conference yesterday as an Oil Study Update that followed extensive field studies of the affected sites in Mumbai, Vashi and in Raigad district's Uran, Sasavne and Rewas was released.
The BNHS will submit an interim report to the Ministry of Environment and Forests by mid-November.
When the Panama-flagged MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia 3 collided off the coast of Mumbai on August 7, over 400 tonnes of oil spilled into the Arabian sea whilst 200 containers, some containing hazardous cargo, fell into the waters. Oil floated all the way down 35km south of Mumbai to Kihim beach in Raigad, leaving a disastrous trail.
Oil had seeped into the ledges of rocks killing sea anemones and other species whilst oil floats up even now even if one walks into the mangroves of Vashi.
