Managing a blackout : the consequences of an oil spill at sea /

Abstract

The Ennore Oil Spill of 2017 triggered by a collision between two oil cargo vessels resulted in an environmental incident. This study is an attempt to cull the details from public domain and analyse the efficacy of the Government system to cope up with response. The information on events leading to the mishap indicates the suboptimal working conditions of seafarers prevailing on-board. The response activity drew negative publicity as the official communications were inconsistent. Besides declaring an under estimated quantum of oil spill, the perceived delay and inadequate resources seems to have aggravated the public sentiment. The episode of coastal spill clean-up came to close in two weeks with contributions from 30+ agencies of Government and industry along with 2000+ volunteers. The shoreline environment and fisheries activities returned to normalcy in three months’ time. Compensation to affected public was settled in a years’ time. However there is little information or unbiased evaluation of the episode available. An evaluation of such incidents will aid in addressing issues in future.