The incident happened in the early morning of December 09, 2014 when an oil container (OT Southern Star 7) carrying more than 350,000 liters of furnace oil collided with another cargo vessel 'Total' amid dense fog. It was reported that until December 14, the oil had spread out to 100 square kilometers posing serious threat to the ecology of the surrounding environments. Environmentalists warn that bio-diversity of the Sundarbans will be jeopardised if the spilled oil is not removed immediately. This is supposed to be one of the worst oil spills in recent times. Before that there were some incidents in Indonesia, Panama, Nigeria and Australia. There was also a major oil rig explosion in 2010 in the Mexico Gulf and British Petroleum (BP) was held responsible for that incident.
The recent incident happened within the heritage site of the Sundarbans, the biggest mangrove forest in the world. The UNESCO declared it as a heritage site in 1997. This mangrove forest is home to about 260 species of birds and other animals including Royal Bengal Tiger, Irabati Dolphin (locally called as Sushuk), Estuarine crocodile and Indian python. The rivers within the forest are also full of fishes, and local people depend for their livelihood on fishing and collecting leaves, honey and other materials from the forest.
Some environmental groups have been raising voice to uphold the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans for years. Some of them also strongly protested the proposed Rampal power plant to be built about 14 kilometers north of the Sundarbans. Since the proposed plant will be coal-based, environmentalists fear that the coal-carrying vehicles might release large amounts of fly ash, coal dust, sulfur and other toxic chemicals which eventually will seriously damage the ecology of the Sundarbans. In addition to man-made incidents, natural disasters such as floods, cyclones etc., have considerable impact on the biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
It is reported in the newspapers that there are shipping routes within the forest to carry goods and petroleum products. It was also reported that Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) had permitted these routes for movement of cargo-carrying water vessels. There were also two similar incidents about two months ago and no steps were taken so far to stop the passage of vessels. Rampant movement of cargo vessels along these routes disregarding domestic and international regulations has been degrading the ecology in and around the heritage site for long. A local daily reported that approximately 150-250 ships carry goods or oil every day along theses routes.
So, it is not unexpected that any kind of untoward incident might happen any time. Since it is assumed that no ships can ply without the permission of BIWTA, people can question their responsibility for the tanker incident. A fact finding committee has been in place to look into the reasons for collision and estimate probable losses. The matter of accountability of the authorities concerned should also be looked into.
From this perspective, we can link accountability with the philosophical notion of 'social contract'. Based on this notion, we think the shipping companies or their owners need to be held responsible as BP was held responsible for the Mexico Gulf oil rig explosion. These companies perceptibly have 'social contracts' with the broader society/community and society grants them a 'licence to operate'. Social contract is an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits. Theories of social contract became popular in the 16th, 17th and the 18th centuries among theorists such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as a means of explaining the origin of governments and the obligations of the citizens. It is the society's expectations that organisations and persons within the society must comply with this 'social contract'. Hence, it is expected that these companies or persons can continue their business operations if they comply with broader societal expectations.
Now-a-days, we frequently talk about climate change and Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries exposed to the threats of global warming. Research shows that a one meter rise in the sea levels will inundate 17 per cent of Bangladesh's total land area by the year 2050. Sea level rise will drastically affect the bio-diversity of the Sundarbans. However, we have seen some initiatives from the government lately to raise this issue at various global climate conferences and is also trying to get funds to cope with the risk through mitigation, adjustments and further improvements in the climate fight. However, access to such funds will largely depend on our local capability in ensuring accountability and transparency.
There are hundreds of research studies going on both at home and abroad on the climate risks and its potential impact on countries, especially the vulnerable ones. Nevertheless, what is happening in Bangladesh to combat climate change and man-made catastrophes such as the recent oil spill in the Sundarbans may not signal sufficiently strongly in accessing the desired funding. So, the government needs to be more careful and proactive while handling these issues.
So far, there were some initiatives to collect the oil and an oil company (Padma) is interested to buy these at a discount. Several television footages showed that the Shela River (where the incident took place) is covered with thick, black layers of oil and the oil is spreading across the mangrove plantations on its both sides. TV footages also showed local people including children collecting these oils with bare hands, which is hazardous on various health grounds.
Since the flora and fauna of the Sundarbans and its ecology are in serious danger due to the oil spill, the issue must be dealt with strong hands. There is a legal suit against the ship owners for TK. 1.00 billion, which many observers argue is far less. In the aforementioned BP oil rig explosion, legal suits amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars were filed against BP; some got settled and some are still pending and BP is showing them as contingent liability in their 'notes on Financial Statement'. In Bangladesh, we still don't know who are the owners of the ships or which shipping companies they (OT Southern Star 7 and Total) belong to, and whether the vessels were certified as sea-worthy or not. A quick and detailed investigation along with identifying the responsible shipping companies or the owners is the demand of time, and we should also exercise our moral obligation to try as best as we can to salvage the rare heritage site from the adverse consequences.
Dr. Yousuf Kamal is Associate Professor, Department of Accounting & Information Systems, University of Dhaka. [email protected]
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