For the first time since two ships collided at Ennore, leading to the spillage and spread of several tonnes of oil on the Chennai coast, M.A. Bhaskarachar, Chairman of Kamarajar Port Ltd, has gone on record saying the captain of m.v. MT BW Maple was warned about the possibility of a collision with m.v. MT Dawn Kanchipuram. Recalling the events on the morning of January 28, he said the pilot of Maple, which was leaving the port, disembarked only after consultations with the captain of the ship. “After the Maple went out of our boundary — the breakwater — there is a system where they [pilot] discuss with the captain whether they need assistance or not. The captain said in this instance he was a regular visitor. Since he said he was okay, the pilot took it to the breakwater, got down and came to the pilot’s station and was watching. In fact, he sent a message that ‘you are going to collide, be careful’,” Mr. Bhaskarachar said. Dawn Kanchipuram, which was coming in to the port, had a pilot on board at the time of the accident. An inquiry was on and details of the quantum of the oil spilled or in the ship at the time of the accident are not yet clear. Malini V. Shankar, Director General of Shipping, said at a press conference on Monday that Dawn Kanchipuram had a total cargo of 26,806 metric tonnes of motor spirit and 6,008 tonnes of high speed diesel, which were safely discharged to shore tanks. “This is a huge ship, it has several tanks. Each tank has to be inspected one by one...and the oil has to be transferred from one tank to another to see what is the leakage. This process is going on, it will take a few days,” she said. Ms. Shankar boarded the vessel to personally assess the situation and to direct the operations.
ACCIDENTS
07 February 2017 - 14:00
Update: 07 February 2017 - 14:25
Vessel captain was warned about possible collision
Vessel captain was warned about possible collision
ACCIDENTS
07 February 2017 - 14:00
Update: 07 February 2017 - 14:25
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