Priya Blue oil spill at Alang reignites beaching-yard scrutiny

A heavy fuel oil spill from the beached LNG carrier Sohar at Priya Blue's V1/V2 shipbreaking yard in Alang-Sosiya has reignited questions over the safety and environmental standards behind Indian beaching-yard certification, according to NGO Shipbreaking Platform. Priya Blue said an extremely high tide wave destabilised the Sohar on 13 June, days after it was beached; the vessel then struck a floating crane barge, damaging its forward fuel tank and releasing heavy fuel oil.

The yard said remediation began immediately with workers in full PPE and containment near the source. NGO Shipbreaking Platform disputed that account, saying footage showed workers cleaning oil without protective clothing, while satellite imagery indicated the spill spread beyond the plot, with oil seen ashore some 10 km away at Mithi Virdi.

The group has asked Priya Blue for an incident timeline, a hydrocarbon mass balance for the reported 63 tonnes spilled and 32 tonnes recovered, and technical evidence of the damage, and renewed its call to ban beaching under review of the IMO Hong Kong Convention. The Sohar was sold for recycling by joint owners MOL and Asyad Shipping.