The above-mentioned seminar was organized by National Oceanographic and Maritime Institute (NOAMI) on Saturday, January 31, 2015. It was held at the Shahid Mokhlesur Rahman Auditorium (3rd Floor) Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB), 153, Pioneer Road, Segunbagicha, Dhaka-1000.
The keynote paper was presented by Professor Dr. Shahidul Islam of the Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka and a Member of the Board of Governors of NOAMI.
Through a power point presentation Professor Islam discussed in details the accident which occurred when an oil tanker named “Southern Star 7” was hit by a cargo vessel and about 350,000 liters of furnace oil was spilled in the Shela river in the Sundarbans, Sundarbans is the single largest mangrove of the world with full of biodiversity. Professor Islam elaborately discussed the biodiversity, hydrology and the aspects of tides, the salinity zoning etc. He then talked about the oil spill and the response both of the government and the public in general. He described the possible short-time and long-time deleterious effects of the oil spill. He stressed on the need for creating awareness about this sort of marine pollution and suggested measures to mitigate them.
The seminar talk was followed by a lively question and answer session. Professor Dr. A. A. Z. Ahmad presided over the function and gave the concluding remarks. The seminar was attended by a large number of audience including members of NOAMI, officers of the Geological Survey of Bangladesh, and other interested scientists from different universities and R/D organizations of the country.