Oil spill in the Laccadives Sea from the oil tanker 'Transhuron'

Abstract

An american oil tanker 'Transhuron' ran around in the Laccadives Sea on Kiltan Atoll, about 300 km from the mainland. The tanker got badly damaged and its oil began to spill. It was carrying about 18,500 tonnes of furnace oil from Bahrain to the Philippines. Nearly 3,000 tonnes of oil leaked from the tanker into the sea creating oil pollution in a wide area. The fauna and flora of Kiltan Atoll were adversely affected, and soon after the accident, mortality of animal life in the polluted zone was widespread. Further studies are required to determine how quickly the atoll recovers from the effects of oil pollution