An Indian shipping agency and terminal have been blamed for a leak of fuel from an Andromeda International tanker.
A letter from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board seen by TradeWinds reveals that 1.5 tons of furnace oil was spilled during discharge from the 40,000-dwt Coral Stars (built 2004) on 18 November at Kamarajar port.
The incident was attributed to a shear of the ferrule joint in an eight-inch hose
The sudden failure led to a clean-up operation. The spill was contained within 50 metres of the tanker.
The letter said the fuel was consigned to Bharat Petroleum (BP) at Ennore Tank Terminal (ETT).
The primary cause was "use of a defective hose" by ETT, it added.
"There also appears to be a lack of supervision of the transfer operation by BP, the tanker and its agency Atlantic Shipping."
The board is assigning liability to Atlantic Shipping due to lack of supervision and the absence of a responsible official, it said.
A deposit of INR 2.5m ($35,400) must be paid against any future claims.
Operator International Andromeda of Monaco told TradeWinds at the time: "Local authorities estimate the oil spillage at about 1cbm.
"Shore hose parted from shore installation and obviously discharge was immediately stopped. Cleaning up is under progress."
