Officials in East Midnapore’s Haldia port were put on alert on Friday after Coast Guard informed them about a fuel leak on a vessel bound for the port from Sri Lanka.

According to dock officials, a Portuguese vessel sailing from Colombo had a leak in the oil tank early on Thursday morning, off the coast of Chennai, and had suffered significant losses of cargo before preventative action could be taken. However, the vessel’s movement was not affected.

“Around 10KL of oil is supposed to have spilled into the sea, leaving a vast film and trail, which is sure to affect marine life,” said an official.

The MV Devon, carrying 120KL of sulphur fuel oil, with 17 crew had been carrying almost 11 tonnes of cargo when the incident occurred about 450km off the Chennai coast.

“It was slated to reach the Haldia sand head on Friday but will now reach a day later because of cautionary movement,” said a Haldia port official, adding that the vessel’s crew drained the leaking compartment and moved the oil into a different tank.

Following the incident, the vessel's crew contacted the coast guard, who put its emergency teams in Chennai on notice. However, sources said the vessel continued on its course without emergency assistance.

"The ICG is in continuous contact with MV Devon and the master has reported that the vessel is stable. ICG pollution response team at Chennai has been alerted and kept on standby. In addition, ICG ships and aircraft deployed at sea are also put on alert in pollution response configuration," the ministry notification on Thursday read.

Officials in Haldia, meanwhile, are apprehending adverse impacts on local marine life, and the fishing ecosystem, by the possible trail of oil the vessel will bring. Fishing season in Bengal began officially this Monday, following a two-month halt for breeding.

"If there is an oil cover, the hilsa could be affected because they migrate into rivers from the sea during the monsoon," said Bengal’s assistant director of fisheries (marine), Surajit Bag.

"We are not sure yet, however, whether such a thing will happen," he added.

Port officials said inspection teams were being kept ready in Haldia in anticipation of the vessel.

"The vessel will be inspected thoroughly on arrival," said general manager (administration), Haldia port, Pravin Kumar Das.