Bhubaneswar, Sep 21 - The Paradip Port in Orissa Monday launched a drive along its coast to contain possible environmental damage from a Mongolian ship that sank off the coast Sep 9.

The vessel MV Black Rose, carrying about 25,000 tonnes of iron ore fines and 900 tonnes of oil, capsized in Bay of Bengal, five km off the Paradip coast.

'We verified the reports about oil spill. There is a negligible amount of oil spilled into the sea. It could have been from other vessels too. We have launched a cleaning drive along the coast,' said Biplab Kumar, deputy chairman of Paradip Port.

'We have deployed tug boats. We have our special machines to contain the oil leakage. We are closely monitoring the situation,' he added.

The site where the vessel capsized is very close to the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, one of the few remaining nesting sites for Olive Ridley turtles in the world. The turtles come to the site every year around this month for breeding.