Tankers Collide Off India, Small Spill

An oil tanker and an LPG tanker collided in the port of Kamarajar, near Chennai, in India on Saturday.

Local media reports that the collision resulted in a thin film of oil stretching for two nautical miles after the LPG tanker BW Maple collided with the Indian tanker MT Dawn Kancheepuram.

The LPG carrier was outbound and the oil tanker in-bound. The ships were being guided by tugs with pilots at the time. According to port authorities, the collision happened about two nautical miles from the shore owing to “miscommunication” or “misjudgment.”

There are no reports of injuries. The spill has been classified as small by some local authorities, and no environmental damage has been reported.

Both vessels are afloat and at anchor, and a containment boom has been erected. 

An investigation is underway.