ShareThis
Can India allow wrecks to take place on its coast? Will the RAK carrier cause havoc or will it get salvaged in time?
The vessel had sunk on 4th
August 2011 with its cargo of 60,054 tonnes of coal in its seven holds
and 290 tonnes of fuel oil and 50 tonnes of diesel oil. The approach
channel is shared by the two major ports of India viz. Mumbai and
Jawaharlal Nehru ports the latter is the biggest container port of
India.
What
is of great concern is the possibility of the channel again getting
blocked in the event of a major incident taking place with the wreck of
the M. V. RAK coming in contact with passing vessels that traverse the
area. In fact in August of 2010 the appalling accident involving the
Panamanian – registered container ship MSC Chitra that collided with
Khalijia – II, a St. Kitts registered ship, resulted in the two major
ports of India - Mumbai port and J N Port being totally put out of
commission for a week. The loss to the trade and the ports was colossal
let alone the ship owners, etc. At the moment hardly any headway has
been made in the case of RAK carrier to salvage or remove the wreck.
A
spokesman from the nautical arm of the Director General of Shipping
(DGS) pointed out, “‘M.V. RAK lies 20 miles out at sea which falls
outside our territorial waters which extends only up to 12 nautical
miles from the Indian shore. Hence, the directorate does not have
jurisdiction beyond this limit. Salvaging would cost anything above $
one million.” Where is this amount expected to come from? He wondered.
A spokesman of the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) informed that the wreck of the M.V. RAK carrier lies in the Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) which is the offshore area that extends 200
nautical miles from the coast. It appears that the DGS has sought the
assistance of the Shipping Corporation of India. Nothing definite is yet
know about the way forward in this regards.
In
a recent report submitted to the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) it has been observed that the risks of a serious shipping accident
are higher because the checks and balances to monitor effective
compliance with the required international standards set by the IMO are
not effective. The flag state of a vessel has primary responsibility for
ensuring compliance, but many vessels sail under flags of countries
that are incapable of discharging this responsibility properly.Post at:
http://www.maritimeprofessional.com/Blogs/The-impending-salvage-of-m--v--RAK-carrier-%281%29/June-2012/The-impending-salvage-of-m--v--RAK-carrier.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment