Damaged cargo ship MSC Chitra still lies in the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast on Aug. 9, 2010 after it collided with another cargo ship on August 7. Indranil Mukherjee/Getty Images
New Delhi, India - It was on August 7, when two Panamanian cargo ships collided off the Mumbai coast causing an oil spill from one of the two vessels that is threatening the Mumbai coast.
Indian Coast Guard officials said no casualties were reported to the 33 crew members who were rescued after the incident.
According to Coast Guard officials, the outbound merchant vessel from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), collided with MV Khalijia-III, five nautical miles from the shores at 9:50 am when the latter was sailing towards Mumbai Port Trust (MPT), off Mumbai harbour, for berthing.
A senior Coast Guard official said on condition of that the spill was "significant" but claimed the situation was "under control". However, shipping lanes off India's commercial hub Mumbai may be closed for another two days because of the oil spill.
The collision left the Panamanian vessel tilting in the water, although it has now been stabilized with no more oil leaking from containers on its deck, according to S.S. Dasila, an Indian coast guard commandant.
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