Cyclone Yaas: Vessels moved, oil and gas installations in survival mode

Ships at anchorage have been asked to move to a safer area in the sea while oil and gas installations will go into survival mode as they brace for cyclone Yaas to make landfall at north OdishaWest Bengal coastCyclone Yaas equivalent to a category 3 hurricane is the second severe storm in the span of about 10 days to hit Indian coasts The cyclone is set to make landfall sometime Wednesday eveningA major contingency plan has been put in place to mitigate the impact of the cyclone on oil and gas installations an official statement saidOdisha coast has two major ports at Dhamra and Paradip and a huge oil refinery at Paradip West Bengal hosts a major port at HaldiaOil and gas exploration and production installations are designed to withstand cyclones There are also smaller ports along the coastThe oil and gas industry has made all arrangements to maintain adequate petroleum product CNG LPG stock at all the dealerships in the area expected to be hit by the cyclone it said Disaster Control Room at Corporate and Divisional level has been set up by the oil and gas companiesThe contingency plan drawn includes suspending all critical operations once the cyclone intensity increases shutdown of identified oil and gas installations before wind speed exceeds 6080 kph and all vessels at anchorage moved to safe areas away from the path of the cycloneOffshore oil and gas installations will go into what is called a survival mode halting movements and going into a cocoonPorts refineries and plants are on high alertIndian Oil Corp IOC the nations biggest oil firm stopped unloading crude oil at Paradip in Odisha and asked all ships to move 250 nautical miles away from the path of the cycloneBoth Paradip Port Trust and Dhamra Port have asked all vessels at anchorage to move to a safer area in the sea while those alongside berths have been asked to keep their main engines ready to move to sea at a short noticeOil industry officials are in close coordination with Paradip and Haldia Port authorities on the berthing and deberthing of vesselsbarges at jettiesActivities at all project sites have been temporarily suspended and the workers have been moved out to ensure their safety All ships carrying petroleum products and crude oil have been advised to keep a safe distance from the cyclones path the statement saidHowever the industry is geared up to ensure a continuous supply of petroleum products and other essential commodities including medical oxygen for continued Covid19 managementAllout efforts are underway to ensure that the supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen LMO from the eastern part of India to the rest of the country doesnt get affected by the cyclonic storm it notedInstallations have been asked to follow standard operating procedures as per the Emergency Response Disaster Management PlanAll stormwater drains have been checked and cleaned it said adding electricaldiesel pumps for removal of water from electrical trenches and other places have been arrangedAll high mast towers light fixtures have been lowered and all temporary connections removed Transporters have been advised to park vehicles at a safe place en route to the destination in heavy rainswindsAt aviation fuelling stations provisions are in place to provide mobile refuelling near to calamity site for meeting rescuerelief air operations it addedAt oil loading and unloading arms of ports no crude oil tanker is allowed at the Single Point Mooring SPM in the run up to the landfall of the stormSPM hoses and hawsers have been secured to prevent damage Maintenance and support vessels have returned to shoreAt ONGC drilling sites all supply vessels have been moved to safe locationsAt the oil storage cavern at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh barring essential operational activities all work has been suspended until the cyclone subsides to minimise the number of staff present at the terminalAlso pipeline transfer of LPG has been suspendedAt IOCs Haldia and Paradip refineries additional workforce in each shift have been kept for effective manning and emergency handlingAlso hospitals have been adequately manned and ambulances kept ready in standby condition for handling any medical emergencies First aid kits have been replenished at all locationsOther humanitarian efforts to help people in distress include stocking enough LPG cylinders at all cyclone shelters in close coordination with district authorities making arrangements for standby diesel generators for hospitals as well as stocking diesel at the major hospitals in anticipation of power failureAll fuel stations have been topped up with sufficient stocks to prevent any fuel shortage Also all LPG cylinder bookings are being cleared on priority in the areas likely to be affectedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter 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