Thick layer of oil covers Chennai coastline

On Sunday, two ships collided along the Ennore coast, near Chennai, resulting in an oil spill. For the past three days, a thick layer of oil has covered Chennai's coast line and beaches nearby, including its famed Marina beach. Environmentalists fear the massive oil spill after two ships collided near Chennai last Saturday will have a long-term impact on the marine life than previously believed. The collision took place around 4am on Saturday when MT BW Maple - a ship from the Isle of Man that was on its way out of the Ennore port - hit MT Dawn Kanchipuram, an Indian ship carrying nearly 45,000 tonnes of petroleum. MT Dawn Kanchipuram was on its way to berth at the Ennore port, 24 km north of Tamil Nadu capital.