Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Sep 4: A dredging ship titled Tridevi Prem that had been anchored about 2.5 nautical miles off Panambur port sunk at around 2.40 am on Tuesday September 3. All the shipping personnel on the dredger were rescued.
The ship is owned by Mumbai-based Mercator Ltd. A complaint of abandoning the ship irresponsibly has been registered against the sailors and the ship crew by the port trust here. Information about this incident has been conveyed to the union ministry of shipping, chief secretary of Karnataka, deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district and the city police commissioner.
The said dredger had been anchored near Panambur since the last some months. It is learnt that because of turbulence at sea, the dredger had developed a hole at its bottom from which water had begun to enter the dredger. As the ship began to sink since late night on Monday, the sailors and other crew immediately used emergency safety boat and reached the Coast Guard shop and escaped without facing any danger.
The New Mangalore Port Trust, on getting information, entered into the rescue act. It dispatched an emergency repair team to stop diesel, oil etc from seeping into and polluting the sea. However, the team, on reaching the spot, saw that the staff had left the dredger. As the sea remained tumultuous, the team could not take any step. The team was later brought back to the shore by pilot launch.
New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has since filed police complaint against the staff of the dredger for irresponsibly leaving the ship in crisis. As per shipping rules, pilot of the ship and crew members should not leave the ships during emergency situations, it pointed out. The port trust said that it had made arrangements to stop the possible leakage and consequent pollution and also make an effort to save the ship. "Mercator Ltd has informed that the ship has only generator diesel and hence chances of pollution are less. Still, Coast Guard and coastal security police team have taken care. We have instructed fishing boats to be cautious when operating near the dredger," said NMPT chairman, A V Ramanan. He also said that the deputy commissioner has immediately responded to the situation and that NMPT has been in constant touch with MRPL, Kochin Port Trust etc.
It is learnt that the government had given the work of undertaking dredging operation near the important ports in the country. Mercator Ltd but for technical reasons, the agreement had been cancelled. Therefore, the said dredger was anchored near the city since the last five to six months. Dredging Corporation of India is expected to begin dredging operations here from September 15 onward, and this accident happened just before that.