Oil spill along Gujarat-Maharashtra sea? Environmentalist notices coastline slowly getting polluted by tar balls

By A Representative
MSH Sheikh, who heads the environmental organization, Brackish Water Research Centre (BWRC), operating from Olpad, Surat district, has found that the coastline along the Valsad district “is being hit by oil spill”, with 50 km sea shore “slowly getting the tar balls over the last several days.”
In a representation to the Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), Sheikh has sought its urgent intervention as the “deposition of tar balls are increasing, which shows oil spill in mid sea”, pointing out that it is all set to cause “pollution in coast as well as in the sea.”
In his representation -- a copy of which has been sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India – Sheikh says, “All oil spill incidents in the past have taken place during monsoon”, giving the instance of oil spills in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, regretting, nothing has been done to stop the disaster.
“In the past the 200-km-long Gujarat-Maharashtra coastline was affected, yet source of pollution was not identified. Even coastguards had also termed it mysterious oil spill”, ”, he said, adding, “We fear this time the oil spill is the result of either leakage from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) pipeline in Bombay High or its offshore unit, or has been caused by accidental release from a ship or a tanker.”
Seeking immediate action from concerned Central and state departments “to protect the coastal marine life”, as this happens to be the breeding season, the representation says, “Experts from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) should be called for fingerprinting the spilled oil, in which the organization has some expertise. Past oil spills were investigated by NIO.”

A tar ball is a blob of petroleum which has been weathered after floating in the ocean. Tarballs are an aquatic pollutant in most environments

A tar ball is a blob of petroleum which has been weathered after floating in the ocean. Tarballs are an aquatic pollutant in most environments, although they can occur naturally and as such are not always associated with oil spills.

Tarball concentration and features have been used to assess the extent of oil spills and their composition can also be used to identify their sources of origin. They are slowly decomposed by microorganisms such as chromobacterium violaceum, cladosporium resinae, bacillus submarinus, micrococcus varians, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida marina, and saccharomyces estuari.
A major reason why oil spill takes place along Gujarat-Maharashtra coast, say Gujarat government officials, is heavy traffic of ships along the coastline. More than 5,000 ships loaded with various material, including crude oil, arrive at various ports in Gujarat every year, with ports at Dahej and Hazira, situated next to the the industrial clusters, being the worst affected
In 2009, a blogger, Romin Irani, had noticed reported “a mysterious oil spill” ravaging “around 100km of the coastline”, destroying the coastline “beyond recognition in several parts”. While the Gujarat government “took a good 10 days” to confirm the oil spill, he said, he found the beach at Nargol so “ravaged completely” that it had become “impossible to walk without stepping your feet in crude oil.”

Comments

Griffin Pedigo said…

Oil Spill Eater II was used to clean the tar balls in Alaska after the Exxon Valdez spill and also on the gulf shores after the BP spill. We can clean the shores of Malaysia. Email me at griffin.pedigo@osei.us

July 11, 2017

Unknown said…

We are working in Oil bioremediation without using any harmfull agent since 15 years in ONGC, KOC, OIL, IOCL, etc . we can treat this site with Indian technology very effectivly and in low cost.
contact me Manish Dwivedi, OTBL, otbl.amd@gmail.com, or 9925005217

July 18, 2017

US-China truce temporary, larger trade war between two economies to continue

By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea on 30 October 2025 may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of what has really been achieved in Busan.

When growth shrinks people: Capitalism and the biological decline of the U.S. population

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Critically acclaimed Hungarian-American economic historian and distinguished scholar of economic anthropometric history, Prof. John Komlos (Professor Emeritus, University of Munich), who pioneered the study of the history of human height and weight, has published an article titled “The Decline in the Physical Stature of the U.S. Population Parallels the Diminution in the Rate of Increase in Life Expectancy” on October 31, 2025, in the forthcoming issue of Social Science & Medicine (SSM) – Population Health, Volume 32, December 2025. The findings of the article present a damning critique of the barbaric nature of capitalism and its detrimental impact on human health, highlighting that the average height of Americans began to decline during the era of free-market capitalism. The study draws on an analysis of 17 surveys from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (...

Is vaccine the Voldemort of modern medicine to be left undiscussed, unscrutinised?

By Deepika* Sridhar Vembu of Zoho stirred up an internet storm by tweeting about the possible link of autism to the growing number of vaccines given to children in India . He had only asked the parents to analyse the connection but doctors, so called public health experts vehemently started opposing Vembu's claims, labeling them "dangerous misinformation" that could erode “vaccine trust”!

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria* Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Govt claims about 'revolutionary' rice varieties raise eyebrows: SC order reserved since Jan '24

By Rosamma Thomas * In a matter of grave importance for agriculture, public health awaits Supreme Court ruling, even as top Government of India bureaucrats stand accused of “willful and deliberate disobedience” of the top court. While a contempt petition filed by Aruna Rodrigues , lead petitioner in the Genetic Modification (GM) of crops matter remains pending in the Supreme Court since July 2025, the Union ministry of agriculture asserts that two home-grown gene edited rice varieties are of superior quality, and hold potential for “revolutionary changes in higher production, climate adaptability, and water conservation.” In May 2025, the Press Information Bureau released a press release stating that a “historic milestone” had been reached, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ; the new varieties, DRR Rice 100 (Kamla) and Pusa DST Rice 1 , the press release stated, offer both benefits – increased production and environmental conservation.

Banks, investors pour $52 billion into metallurgical coal expansion despite global climate pledges

By A Representative A new report by the German environmental and human rights NGO Urgewald has revealed that banks and institutional investors have poured nearly $52 billion into the expansion of metallurgical coal, or “met coal,” despite global commitments to phase out coal financing. Between 2022 and 2024, banks provided $21.96 billion in loans and underwriting to met coal developers, while investors held $30.23 billion in securities of companies expanding coal mining operations. The report, Still Burning: How Banks and Investors Fuel Met Coal Expansion, warns that loopholes in coal exit policies have allowed continued support for coal used in steelmaking — a sector responsible for about 11% of global CO₂ emissions.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Neglected dimension: Important linkages of social relationships, values to climate change

By Bharat Dogra A very important but neglected dimension of the efforts to resolve climate change and related serious environmental problems concerns the social values and relationships among people. To bring out the significance of this neglected aspect let us examine the response of two different types of societies. First, let us try to compare a society in which family and community ties are strong and close with another society where these are weak, where there is strong individualism and a very high number of single person households or units. In the first society there is more sharing of resources and facilities, so that this society tends to consume less (to meet needs such as housing and various gadgets). In addition there is much greater possibility in the first society to mobilize people for tasks like greening of community places or even household spaces. When it comes to tasks relating to climate change adaptation, it is the societies with close social relationships wh...

Bihar election: Democracy running away from people’s issues, politics thriving on fake agendas

By Sunil Kumar* Bihar’s political climate is currently heating up. Since the British colonial era, the state has remained trapped in a haze between labour struggles and uneven development, where basic issues such as unemployment, the plight of migrant workers, education, health, agrarian crisis, and corruption are constantly pushed to the background. In their place, absurd debates around “infiltrators,” “Operation Sindoor,” “Article 370,” “pistols,” “burqas,” and nicknames like “Pappu, Tappu, Appu” dominate the discourse.

Search This Blog