Ships may need wreck, green cover to dock

The shippping department is likely to mandate entry of only ships with a wreck and pollution cover from Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club into major ports.

The move is in response to non-removal of wrecked ships creating obstruction in the navigation path of vessels.

A draft notification has been prepared by the department.

According to data with the ministry, during 2003-04, two vessels wrecked at the Kolkata port were not salvaged, despite having a valid P&I Club insurance. Officials said owners and insurers did not respond to the notices from the port authorities.

The draft notification also authorises the conservator or the officer authorised by him to use force as he may consider necessary, to suppress acts of plundering, obstruction of preservation of the vessels or cargo of the vessel.

It has also specified that the conservator or the vessels' owners should ensure that the salvaging company has sufficient experience and expertise to remove the shipwreck without causing any damage. The draft rules, circulated by the ministry to various affected parties, is being opposed by the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I Clubs), the umbrella organisation representing 13 P&I Clubs the world over, providing insurance cover to over 90 per cent of the world's ocean-going vessels, on the grounds that specific risk cover for wreck removal was not possible. In its correspondence with the ministry, the Indian representative of the IGP&I Clubs has said that such a change cannot be prescribed by the way of rules and require an amendment to the Indian Ports Act, 1908, which already lists the specifications to be adhered to for removal of wreck impeding navigation within the limits of the ports.

The group has strongly objected to make specific mention of wreck removal and pollution cover in certificate of entry issued by the vessels of the P&I Club. It has said that the clubs provided a cover for a wide range of risks, including wreck removal and oil pollution, but to give a precise of risks covered in the certificate of entry was not possible.

In addition, the group has pointed out that the draft rules did not spell out the what constituted an adequate proof for wreck removal and oil pollution coverage. "This could lead to confusion, as the rules would be open to individual interpretations of each port," the group has said.

The group has, therefore, suggested that the present practice of accepting the certificate of entry issued by the P&I Club should continue.