Indian port authorities plan to resume port operations in Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru on Sunday, while efforts are underway to pump out the remaining bunker material left onboard the vessel MSC Chitra which grounded after a collision on Saturday.

"Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports will be open by August 15," a source at Global Fuels & Lubricants Inc. told Bunkerworld.

"[However] That is a tentative date given by the port," the source pointed out, adding that containers were still floating around in the the vicinity of where the accident happened.

The collision on Saturday caused over 250 of MSC Chitra's 1,219 containers to fall overboard, presenting a navigational hazard to ships around the vicinity and causing Jawaharlal Nehru port and Mumbai port to be closed.

MSC Chitra, which was carrying 2,662 mt of fuel oil and 245 mt of marine diesel oil (MDO), spilled an estimated 800 metric tonne (mt) of bunker fuel into the sea following the collision with cargo vessel MV Khalija. No fresh leaks were reported mid-week.

"It will take eight days to drain out the [remaining] oil," N N Kumar, acting chairperson for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, told the Times of India, "The major fear will be over when the oil is removed completely."

He added that Singapore-based marine salvage company Smit Salvage will be involved in the operation to remove bunker fuel from the vessel.

A team from Smit arrived on Tuesday and another was arriving on Wednesday with pumps to remove the oil.

"[However] It will take six to eight months before the ship can be refloated and towed away," said Kumar, "If the salvers cannot refloat her, then they will have to cut her and dismantle her."