Punctured pipe revealed after tip-off on oil spill in Sewri

Punctured pipe revealed after tip-off on oil spill in Sewri
A leaked pipeline led authorities to unearth an oilsmuggling racket which had put the safety of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) area at risk.

After receiving a tip-off about an oil spill, the Port Zone police on Tuesday evening informed officials from oil companies, asking them to look into the problem.

During inspection, it was found that the spill had been caused due to a leakage in a pipeline, carrying furnace oil, belonging to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Zone) Kiran Chavan said, “During preliminary assessment, it appeared that the pipeline was illegally tapped by oil smugglers for pilferage.”

The officer said that BPCL officials not only repaired the pipeline to stop further spillage, but also removed a tap that had been illegally installed on it.

DCP Chavan said, “We are working on the oil spill case and have information about possible offenders since we have detected such cases in the past.”

A source said the police are suspecting that there might be illegal taps on several oil pipelines that run underground.

Earlier this month, the Sewri police arrested notorious smuggler Sanjay Lahane in connection with pilferage of furnace oil meant for an HPCL unit.

An investigating officer said: “During his interrogation, Lahane told us that there are around 30 points that have been breached by his gang members for oil smuggling.” Lahane had built up a shanty over an underground HPCL pipeline and dug up a 7-foot-deep hole before drilling into the supply line.

Yashodhan Wanage, MbPT deputy chairman, said: “We do have our vigilance team which checks oil pilferage and reports it to police. But at several spots the pipelines run underground. This makes it impossible for us to detect tampering.”

Wanage added: “We have no power to order or instruct the operators on maintenance, but as per rule they are doing it on a regular basis to prevent pilferage.”

A vigilance officer from port trust said some smugglers know the exact location of pipelines. “This indicates that they have access to the map of entire port area and underground pipelines,” referring to involvement of some officials.

He said: “Smugglers are using high quality valves to steal oil from pipes. While incidents like Tuesday’s expose their plan, they also raise a security concern for the port area.”