Publications

If there is one common lesson that can be learned from every oil spill incident it is that no two spills are ever the same. Each time an oil spill occurs, it serves as a cautionary tale for countries, government bodies and relevant industries to re-examine their own level of preparedness. One such incident was the recent MSC Chitra spill in Mumbai, India. Though the incident was much lesser in magnitude and scale compared to the Deepwater Horizon, it remains a significant case study in terms of lessons learned on the various factors that can hamper a timely and effective response to a spill.Two merchant vessels, MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia III collided off Mumbai harbour on 7th August 2010. The collision caused MSC Chitra to list at an angle of 80 degrees, spilling an estimated 400 tonnes of bunker fuel oil as well as several of the containers she was carrying. The strong monsoon winds and tidal currents led to the rapid spreading of oil, causing significant contamination in many areas along the Mumbai coast. One heavily impacted site was Elephanta Island, a UNSECO World Heritage Centre situated 11 kilometres from the south east coast of Mumbai.This paper is a case study on the response strengths and weaknesses considering specifically the logistics, communication, customs requirements, resource availability and response actions, noted during the cleanup operation of this important site. The review and implementation of these lessons can enhance the level of preparedness for spills of a similar nature.