Crews Struggle to Salvage Grounded Tanker Off Pakistani Coast

Salvage crews were struggling Friday to keep a grounded oil tanker from completely breaking up off Pakistan’s southern coast and blocking part of a major shipping channel near Karachi, the country’s biggest city, officials said.

The Greek-registered ship’s hull split in two Thursday, and pipes within the vessel were holding the wreckage together and keeping it from floating away, said Brig. Iftikhar Arshad, general manager of the Karachi Port Trust, which operates the port.

“There is a danger that the ship would drift apart and that a part of it would block the channel, so to stabilize the ship we need to take all the oil out,” Arshad said.

Salvage crews were using tugboats to try to hold together the Tasman Spirit, which became stranded July 27 in the Arabian Sea during monsoon rains, he said.

The vessel was about one mile off Karachi’s port.

He added that there was a danger that the pipes on the ship might rub against each other and cause friction and sparks that might trigger an explosion.

“If we salvage the ship now, we can prevent an accident from happening,” Arshad said.

The ship was carrying 74,000 tons of crude oil from Iran for the state-run Pakistan Refinery Ltd. So far, crews have salvaged 61,000 tons of oil. Thousands of tons of oil remain in the ship’s tanks, officials have said.

Port authorities threatened to fine the owners of the oil tanker.

Ahmad Hayat, chairman of the Karachi Port Trust, said that the ship’s owners can be fined 10 million Pakistani rupees, about $173,000, the amount allowed by its insurance company.

Public beaches in Karachi have been closed, and a thick layer of oil has washed up on shore, residents have said.

Dead fish and crabs soaked in crude have also littered the beaches, and environmentalists fear a major disaster.

But officials said Thursday that the spill, which covered about four miles of the coastline, would not have a long-term effect on the environment.

Residents living near the sea in Karachi have complained of nausea and headaches.

Several have moved to other parts of the city until the area is cleaned.

“Fumes from the oil do evaporate, but such a big quantity can cause breathing problems, especially to asthma patients, who should not risk their lives by exposing themselves to the fumes for a long time,” said Dr. Mohammed Aslam, a pharmaceutical researcher in Karachi.

A television crew for the news and entertainment channel GEO was hospitalized after inhaling toxic fumes while filming on oil-soaked beaches for four hours Friday, said Azhar Abbas, news director at the station.

The crew’s driver, who fainted, remained in the hospital while the others were released, he said.

Meanwhile, the Defense Housing Authority, a private organization that looks after the popular Clifton beach and surrounding residential area, is building an 8-foot sand wall to control the spill.

“But I think this is a futile exercise because the waves keep destroying the wall,” said Atif Butt, an official at the housing authority.