A 24-inch ONGC oil pipeline developed a leak at 8.45 am Friday, after which 50 metric tonnes of oil spilled into Arabian Sea. The Coast Guard is conducting its disaster contingency plan, but thanks to the weather conditions the spill is not expected to hit the Maharashtra coast.
An ONGC release said the leak was observed 2 km from the western offshore oil rig of the Bassein oil/gas field 80 km off Mumbai, and all networked wells were shut to prevent it spreading.
A Coast Guard official said fishing activities would not be affected, but the damage to marine life would be known only after a complete assessment.