Cargo ship washed up on Chilika coast poses threat to ecosystem: Coast Guard

Bhubaneswar: Raising concerns over the stranded Malaysian cargo ship aground near Rajhans in Chilika lake since last Wednesday(August 7), Indian Coast Guard today wrote a letter to the owner of the vessel citing that the ship which is loaded with fuel & lubricants is a threat to eco-sensitive Chilika & Odisha Coast.

As per reports, the vessel contains 30,000 litres of diesel, 1000 litres of lube oil & 200 litres of hydraulic oil. In the letter, the owner of vessel has been urged to take steps to prevent leakage.

The Indian Coast Guard has marked the letter to the Odisha Chief Secretary. Due to tides, the container has slowly drifted away from the engine which is also in a bad condition, informed sources.

The Malaysian cargo ship, which was en route to Visakhapatnam port, reportedly developed a technical glitch after being caught in a storm in the Bay of Bengal and washed ashore near Rajhans in Chilika lake on the night of August 7.

As per reports, the ship carrying cargo from Malaysia unloaded its shipment in Bangladesh and was on its way to Visakhapatnam port to pick up new cargo when its machine developed some technical snag.