By IANS,
Panaji : The Goa government has asked the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to hunt down an unidentified rogue ship which dumped oil off the coast leaving several of its popular beaches layered with oily streaks and tar balls earlier this week.
Speaking to IANS Thursday, Deputy Collector Levinson Martin, who is holding additional charge as Director of Science and Technology, said ICG had been instructed to track down the errant ship and keep vigil on the coastline to ensure that vessels do not illegally discharge burnt oil from their tanks in the seas off Goa.
“The Coast Guard have been asked to locate the vessel responsible for the tar ball deposits on the Varca-Benaulim beach. I have issued the instruction because I am holding additional charge of the state government’s Science and Technology department,” Martin said.
The beaches of Varca-Benaulim located 40 km from here, were layered by the oily residue, Monday evening. Marine scientists have attributed the messy ‘tar ball’ phenomenon, to the discharging of burnt-oil into the sea off the coast by sea-going ships, resulting in large quantities of semi-solid oil lumps, depositing on the beaches in the vicinity.
Goa’s tourism season was threatened last year, as several of its beaches both in north and south Goa were layered with tar balls. And the repeated occurrence is worrying the state government.
“We have also asked the Coast Guard to keep vigil to ensure that the discharge of oil does not happen again along the coastline,” Martin said.