Goa to urge Liberian company to tow away ship before monsoon

The Goa government plans to issue directions to a Liberia-based company to tow away a ship auctioned to them, before the onset of the monsoon.
Anchored eight nautical miles away from the Goa shore, the vessel was owned by Pratibha Shipping Ltd, Mumbai, which went bankrupt in 2012 and has a cargo of 300 tonnes of crude oil on board.
'MT Pratibha Bheema', a ship abandoned mid-sea by its owners was auctioned by the Sheriff of Mumbai after a High Court order recently, fetching the state exchequer Rs 53.75 crore.
A senior port official said that the Liberia-based Autumn Harvest Maritime Company which owns the ship after the auction, has been asked to tow away the ship before the monsoon.

Ports Department chief James Braganza stated that the vessel is not very old and its cargo of crude oil seems safe for now.
However,the department is preparing for the worst,fearing that the crude oil might spill during the monsoon.