A crack has appeared on the upper deck of the 'SSL Kolkata' prompting the salvage team to plan emptying the vessel of the containers and the fuel before towing it to a port. The 18-member team from the salvage company SMIT spotted the crack during a three-hour inspection of the vessel on June 25.The ship remained stuck in the shallow waters around 18 km from the Sunderbans. Bad weather on June 25 had hampered salvage operation. Winds were blowing at 40 nautical miles per hour. Heavy rain, which significantly reduced visibility. As long as the condition persists, it will be difficult to continue with the salvage work. The salvage team thinks it will be too dangerous to attempt towing the ship with the containers and whatever fuel left in its belly because of the crack. Their primary concern was the fuel in the ship. The priority was to take that out to prevent any spill. Coast Guard vessels and Dornier aircraft have been keeping a 24-hour vigil on the waters around the ship to detect any oil spill, which can wreck havoc on the fragile ecology of the Sunderbans. The salvage team was considering taking help of the air force in shifting the fuel from the vessel. The salvage team was also planning to remove the containers from the ship. The vessel was not in a condition to become operational on its own. Earlier, there were plans to unload the containers after towing it to a port. But it became clear after the inspection that the containers have to be unloaded first. The vessel had on board 211 tonnes of fuel and was loaded with 464 containers when it caught fire. A salvage vessel from Singapore, a tug from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and a platform support vessel with essential supplies and equipment have anchored around 3 km from the ship. They can't go nearer because of the shallow waters.
WORLD SHIPPING
26 June 2018 - 14:21
Crack appeared in upper deck
A crack has appeared on the upper deck of the 'SSL Kolkata' prompting the salvage team to plan emptying the vessel of the containers and the fuel before towing it to a port
WORLD SHIPPING
26 June 2018 - 14:21
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