Probe likely to be completed in two months: DG Shipping

The Directorate General of Shipping, which is probing the collision of two ships off Chennai coast, today said the damaged vessel 'M T Dawn Kanchipuram' has been safely moved from the commercial berth area after the incident and investigation is likely to be completed in two months.

"It (the damaged ship) has been moved from commercial berth area and safely berthed inside the Port Premises. Both the ships (which involved in the mishap) are restrained from leaving the port premises," DG Shipping Malini V Shankar said.

Explaining why it was moved from the commercial berth area, she told reporters that other commercial ships need to enter the Port premises.
 

Detailing the incident which occurred on January 28, she said, "the mishap resulted in the rupture to the left side of the tanker ship. The water tight integrity of the other adjacent tanks were also breached."

The ship's cargo -- 26,806 metric tonne of motor spirit and 6,008 metric tonne of high speed diesel were safely discharged to tanks present in the port, she said, adding the oil spillage that occurred was the fuel from the ship.

She said notices to ship owners have been issued under Section 356 (J) and 356 (K) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958.

"Only a detailed probe would give out a clear picture on actual reason that caused the incident. We expect it to happen in two months," she said.

She said various teams have been mobilised by authorities for responding to the pollution incident including Ports, District Officials, oil firms.

A specialist on oil spill response from International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation has already reached Chennai and is inspecting the accident spot,she said.

For the damage caused to the environment, she said the insurers of the M T Dawn Kanchipuram have established a "claims desk" in Chennai for collecting claims from those agencies affected by the oil spill.

"The claims desk has been authorised to receive claims from affected parties who have suffered economic loss or have incurred expenditure in cleaning the oil pollution," she said.

Responding to a query, the DG Shipping said she held a meeting today with stakeholders including Central and State government officials to discuss and inform on procedures for settlement of claims expeditiously.

Kamarajar Port Ltd Chairman and Managing Director, M A Bhaskarachar said a detailed probe would describe the events that led to the accident. "The pilot of the M T Dawn Kanchipuram had alerted M T Dawn Maple that it was on the collision path," he said.

"We are yet to ascertain the facts. As of now the investigation is going on," he added.

The collision took place on January 28 at 4 AM when M T BW Maple, with a flag of 'Isle of Man', was leaving after emptying Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and M T Dawn Kanchipuram loaded with petroleum oil lubricant (POL) was on its way to berth at the Kamarajar Port, formerly Ennore port.