Jabalenoor 
- Name
- Jabalenoor
- Accident date
- 05/05/2015
- Location
- Bangladesh
- Accident area
- Bengal Delta
- Spill area
- Inland waters
- Cause of spill
- Grounding
- Quantity transported
- 200 tonnes
- Nature of pollutant
- potash fertiliser
- Quantity spilled
- 200 tonnes
- Ship / structure type
- Bulk carrier
The incident
On 5th May, in the delta of Bengal, the bulk carrier Jabalenoor, loaded with 200 tonnes of potash fertiliser, ran aground, for an unspecified reason, in the Bhola River, in the north-east of the Sundarbans mangrove (Bangladesh). This is a natural area protected under the RAMSAR Convention and as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The response
The vessel was stuck on a shoal and almost entirely submerged. Under the combined influence of the tidal currents and the strain exerted on the vessel during the failed attempts to tow it in order to refloat it, the ship fractured. Vessels were deployed to try to collect the cargo of the Jabalenoor, but these attempts were unsuccessful due to the tidal currents.
The water-soluble cargo dissolved in the environment, and could be seen in the form of a reddish tinge in the river. Options for controlling and recovering this dissolved spill were lacking.
The impact
Despite the site's ecological sensitivity (highlighted by the oil spill caused by the Southern Star 7 in December 2014), no visible harmful effects on the environment were report, probably thanks to the rapid dilution of the fertiliser in this vast estuary.