India looks to consolidate oil-spill handling equipment at ports

India is bolstering its readiness to handle potential oil spill disasters along its 7,500-km coastline. It wants to consolidate its oil spill handling equipment at a few major centres for better upkeep. At present, the equipment lie scattered across 12 major ports and some of the 44 functional non-major ports and are often unutilised.

At present, almost all major ports and some non-major ports have bought oil spill response equipment and trained their staff to deal with emergencies that arise from oil spills. However, as this is a non-core area for ports, the equipment are not being effectively utilised and are piling up at ports, according to shipping industry sources.