Tarballs

The accumulation of Tarballs on the famous beaches of Mumbai Shore has become a cause of serious concern since 2020. Oil Spills in the Arabian Sea gets deposited on the western coast of India, in the form of tarballs in the monsoon season when wind speed and circulation pattern favour transportation of these tarballs towards India’s western coast.

• Tarballs are dark-coloured and sticky balls of oil which are formed by processes which aid the physical, chemical and biological weathering of crude oil in marine environments. Some of the balls are as big as a basketball while others are smaller globules. They are usually coin-sized, however over the years, they have become as big as basketballs with weight as much as 6-7 kgs.