Pakistani port officials warned yesterday that they faced a major oil spill along the southern coastline after a tanker that ran aground in heavy storms began to crack open.
A growing slick of oil washed ashore along the main beaches outside Karachi bringing toxic fumes and hundreds of dead fish, sea birds and turtles.
More than 1,000 policemen, equipped with masks, were deployed to close the seafront. Around 10 miles of beach, which every evening is normally filled with families, has been closed.
The single-hull tanker Tasman Spirit ran aground in heavy monsoon storms more than two weeks ago. Salvage experts managed to retrieve some of the 67,500 tonnes of Iranian crude oil it was carrying but more than 40,000 tonnes remained on board, port officials said.
If the rest seeped into the sea, it would become one of the world's worst oil spills.
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground off Alaska in 1989, it spilt 38,800 tonnes, equivalent to 125 Olympic-size swimming pools, and created more damage to the environment than any oil spill in history.
Attempts to unload more oil from the Tasman Spirit, which is stuck around 800 metres outside the main harbour, were abandoned on Wednesday after a big crack developed in the hull. Operators feared the crack could trigger a fire or explosion and the crew were evacuated.
"The crack has now increased," Brigadier Iftikhar Arshad, the general manager at the Karachi Port Trust, said yesterday. "There are a lot of stresses and strains on the structure. We are keeping our fingers crossed but it may break up at any moment."
He said three tanks in the ship were particularly vulnerable. Much of the oil had been emptied from the three, but at least 5,000 tonnes remained. Other tanks had been sealed in an attempt to protect them from rupturing.
Containment booms have been prepared for a spill and chemical dispersants have been brought to the site. A C-130 transport plane carrying extra dispersants and other equipment was flown in from Singapore.
"We are preparing ourselves for the worst case scenario," Brig Arshad said. He insisted only a "limited" amount of oil had so far been spilt in the operations to reduce the ship's load.
But residents in Karachi have reported seeing oil gush from the side of the tanker and form a large slick around the ship.
Dispersants were due to be sprayed into the sea from today.
In a rare gesture of goodwill, coming amid Pakistan's independence day celebrations yesterday, the Indian government offered to send help and equipment to clean up the spill. There was no immediate response from Islamabad.
Pakistani officials have tried to play down the extent of the damage so far. The local press has accused the authorities of reacting slowly.
"The worst is over, we are now inspecting the ship to secure it so that salvage operations can begin," Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat, the chairman of the Karachi port, said yesterday.
Pakistan's environmental protection agency has been criticised for failing to step in to help tackle the problem.
"They have a serious problem on their hands," said Paul Horsman, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace.
"If the ship breaks up, however, much of the remaining cargo is going to get into the environment. It is going to cause immediate and pretty long-lasting damage to areas like the mangroves."
Although Iranian crude oil was lighter than most it was also more toxic, he said. The bunker fuel used to drive the tanker itself also presented a toxic hazard. There was growing pressure on the oil industry to stop using old, cheaper tankers, he said.
As well as the beaches, the oil risks damaging the vast mangrove swamps that stretch inland into southern Pakistan from the sea and which are home to an unusually rich population of wildlife.
The Tasman Spirit was chartered by the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation to bring Iranian oil for the state-run Pakistan Refinery Limited.
A growing slick of oil washed ashore along the main beaches outside Karachi bringing toxic fumes and hundreds of dead fish, sea birds and turtles.
More than 1,000 policemen, equipped with masks, were deployed to close the seafront. Around 10 miles of beach, which every evening is normally filled with families, has been closed.
The single-hull tanker Tasman Spirit ran aground in heavy monsoon storms more than two weeks ago. Salvage experts managed to retrieve some of the 67,500 tonnes of Iranian crude oil it was carrying but more than 40,000 tonnes remained on board, port officials said.
If the rest seeped into the sea, it would become one of the world's worst oil spills.
When the Exxon Valdez ran aground off Alaska in 1989, it spilt 38,800 tonnes, equivalent to 125 Olympic-size swimming pools, and created more damage to the environment than any oil spill in history.
Attempts to unload more oil from the Tasman Spirit, which is stuck around 800 metres outside the main harbour, were abandoned on Wednesday after a big crack developed in the hull. Operators feared the crack could trigger a fire or explosion and the crew were evacuated.
"The crack has now increased," Brigadier Iftikhar Arshad, the general manager at the Karachi Port Trust, said yesterday. "There are a lot of stresses and strains on the structure. We are keeping our fingers crossed but it may break up at any moment."
He said three tanks in the ship were particularly vulnerable. Much of the oil had been emptied from the three, but at least 5,000 tonnes remained. Other tanks had been sealed in an attempt to protect them from rupturing.
Containment booms have been prepared for a spill and chemical dispersants have been brought to the site. A C-130 transport plane carrying extra dispersants and other equipment was flown in from Singapore.
"We are preparing ourselves for the worst case scenario," Brig Arshad said. He insisted only a "limited" amount of oil had so far been spilt in the operations to reduce the ship's load.
But residents in Karachi have reported seeing oil gush from the side of the tanker and form a large slick around the ship.
Dispersants were due to be sprayed into the sea from today.
In a rare gesture of goodwill, coming amid Pakistan's independence day celebrations yesterday, the Indian government offered to send help and equipment to clean up the spill. There was no immediate response from Islamabad.
Pakistani officials have tried to play down the extent of the damage so far. The local press has accused the authorities of reacting slowly.
"The worst is over, we are now inspecting the ship to secure it so that salvage operations can begin," Vice Admiral Ahmed Hayat, the chairman of the Karachi port, said yesterday.
Pakistan's environmental protection agency has been criticised for failing to step in to help tackle the problem.
"They have a serious problem on their hands," said Paul Horsman, senior oil campaigner for Greenpeace.
"If the ship breaks up, however, much of the remaining cargo is going to get into the environment. It is going to cause immediate and pretty long-lasting damage to areas like the mangroves."
Although Iranian crude oil was lighter than most it was also more toxic, he said. The bunker fuel used to drive the tanker itself also presented a toxic hazard. There was growing pressure on the oil industry to stop using old, cheaper tankers, he said.
As well as the beaches, the oil risks damaging the vast mangrove swamps that stretch inland into southern Pakistan from the sea and which are home to an unusually rich population of wildlife.
The Tasman Spirit was chartered by the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation to bring Iranian oil for the state-run Pakistan Refinery Limited.
