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19,000
tons of oil have spilled so far from the Tasman Spirit |
Pakistan
faced the largest environmental disaster in its history when a 24-year old,
single-hulled, Maltese flagged tanker registered in Greece, the MT Tasman
Spirit, carrying 67,500 metric tons of crude oil agrounded in Keamari Channel of
Karachi Harbor on July 27.
A massive oil spill of 19,000 tons from the tanker poses a grave threat to
marine life, fisheries and human life. The residents of posh Clifton and Defense
Housing Authority (DHA) in the mega city Karachi have been badly hit since the
pungent smell emanating from the spill is adversely affecting the eyes and
throats of thousands of residents.
The
authorities, especially those sitting at the helms of affairs at the Karachi
Port Trust, had been underplaying the effects of the oil spill, but marine
biologists and environmentalists say the threat is long-term and devastating.
Dr.
Itrat Zehra, a marine biologist who teaches at the University of Karachi said,
"The oil spill will coat the skin of animals, including fish, and they will
be suffocated." She cautioned, "The market value of shrimp will be
reduced. The reproductive system of marine species will be affected and egg
laying of fish will be delayed." She further stated, "Feathers of
birds will become heavier and they will find it difficult to fly and will
die." (1)
An
Economic Catastrophe
Pakistan
exports fish and prawn to the tune of $125 million per annum on an average,
significantly contributing to the exchequer in terms of foreign exchange. The
fisheries sector had to bear the brunt for several years in the recent past when
the European Union imposed a ban claiming Pakistani seafood was not up to the
EUs standardization. The fisheries sector fears the EU may impose a ban again.
The
most affected people from the spill are tens of thousands of small fishermen
whose livelihoods are threatened. The authorities have imposed a ban on fishing
in the Clifton area and have deployed police and paramilitary forces to stop
picnickers from entering the beach area.
The
wind direction for the time being is towards Clifton beach, but after Sept. 15
it will be towards the Indus Delta. Poor fishermen are already suffering due to
the use of otherwise banned fine nets, poor storage and market linkages in
addition to the reduction in the unit value of fish.
"The
reductions in the unit value of fish export (in terms of US$) in recent years,
as reflected by the Economic Survey of Pakistan, poses an important question as
to what process is being followed in the processing, storage and marketing of
fish and fish preparations for export," according to Dr Akhter Hai, senior
economist at Applied Economics Research Center, University of Karachi.
"Pakistan
has no capacity to cope with an oil spill, minor or major, or with any kind of
shipping accident with environmental consequences," says The Pakistan
National Conservation Strategy, a document prepared by the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) in collaboration with the government of Pakistan several years ago.
"The shipping lanes in the Arabian Sea are some of the busiest in the
world, and it is fortunate that Pakistan has not experienced a spill greater
than that of 'Akbar’, an oil barge that sank and discharged 700 tons of crude
oil in 1984," it said. (2)
The
Clean-up
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Crude
oil washes up on Karachi’s Clifton Beach |
But the inevitable has happened. Short of equipment, Pakistan arranged tugboats
from the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka and a 10,000 metric ton capacity
ship from the UAE so that MT Tasman Spirit could be refloated and crude oil
transferred to it. However, all attempts to refloat the ship failed until it
split into two, spilling massive quantities of oil. The authorities claim they
have transferred 20,000 metric tons of oil so far. The lighterage ship Fair
Jolly, which was transferring crude oil from the MT Tasman Spirit, has now
developed a hole in its keel and the authorities have substituted it with a
naval ship PNS Gwadar, which has the capacity to transfer a mere 500 metric tons
of crude oil every day.
The
Karachi Port Trust (KPT) also sought consultants from the United Kingdom and has
so far done an aerial spray of super dispersant's to the tune of 16 tons to
contain the disastrous effects of the oil spill. "The super dispersant
breaks oil into particles restoring the supply of oxygen and light to marine
life," said Dr Ejaz Ahmed, deputy director general, World Wide Fund for
Nature, based in Pakistan (WWF-P).
The
dispersant breaks oil into tar balls, which either settle down in the sea or
come to the shore, said Tahir Qureshi, director of coastal ecosystems in the
World Conservation Union (IUCN) based in Pakistan, but he was critical of the
technology being used.
"The
indiscriminate spray of chemical dispersant also has a side effect on marine
life and it has been observed that the ecosystem will be disturbed. It is also
injurious for the health of the local population," he said.
Surprisingly,
the KPT is requesting an account payment of $200,000 to initially cover the
necessary costs and would assess the actual costs later. According to press
reports, an International Maritime Organization (IMO) representative stated that
under the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Production Damage
(CLC), the claim is limited to "Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 3 million plus
SDR 400 per gross tonnage (GT) in excess of 5,000."
According
to Captain Rafi Ahmed, a master mariner, at GT 44,116 and current SDR equivalent
to US$1.39133, this amounts to $27,031,789 (about $27 million), which he terms
as "peanuts."
"It
appears that the only claims being pressed for are the clean-up costs. The owner
was also supposed to arrive to negotiate the claims. But what about the losses
in the fishing industry, the ecological damage to the mangrove forestry and the
physical damage to the seashore residents due to respiratory and eye irritations
caused by the fumes of the pollution? After all, how did such damages in other
tanker disasters in other parts of the world amount to a couple of hundred
million to some billion dollars in the past and that too, a few decades
ago?" he asked.
Elaborating,
he said the 116,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) Torrey Canyon grounded at Land's
End, Britain, in April 1967. "I remember the total claims for this incident
were $350 million."
He
further said, "The 35,000 DWT tanker Exxon Valdez grounded at Prince
William Sound, Newfoundland, in March 1989, and about $5 billion was paid out
against claims of over $15 billion."
Sources:
(1)
Shahid
Husain, Most disastrous oil spill off Pakistan, Daily Times, August 14, 2003
(2)
The
Pakistan National Conservation Strategy, Government of Pakistan in
collaboration with IUCN, date of publication not mentioned
Shahid
Husain is a senior reporter with the Daily Times, Pakistan. He can be
reached at: husainwasi@hotmail.com.
