Action plan to clear JNPT channel of fallen containers from listing ship

A view of the MSC Chitra which started listing and spilling oil off the Mumbai coast after colliding with another cargo vessel on August 7, 2010.

Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh today said the authorities had drawn up an action plan to clear the channel leading to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port of the containers that had fallen from merchant vessel MSC Chitra after it collided with another cargo ship off Mumbai last Saturday and caused an oil spill.

Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in Mumbai that the oil spill, which was causing serious concern for the authorities in Mumbai and neighbouring areas along the coastline, had stopped.

"There is no further leakage of oil observed from the MSC Chitra. One Coast Guard ship is monitoring the situation in the area," a press release from the ICG said.

Mr Ramesh said the plan was to collect the floating containers and take them to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port. This would be by anchoring a barge at a suitable anchorage with floating cranes. Tugs will tow the floating containers to the crane for placement on the barge, he said.

"Thus the harbour is likely to be cleared of the floating containers by August 10, 2010," he said in a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha on the environmental implications of the oil spill.

Mr Ramesh said that once the list of the MSC Chitra stabilised and it was certified safe to board, the salvagers would board the vessel and remove the fuel from the various tanks into barges to eliminate the threat of pollution.

He said the containers on deck would have to be removed with the help of tugs and crane and barge arrangement and taken to JNPT. The removal of the remaining containers in the holds and salvage of the vessel would then be attended to, he said.

"The entire salvage is expected to take about 45 days," he said.

Mr Ramesh said an inquiry by the Director General (Shipping) into the causes of the accident had been ordered and was underway.

He said the Coast Guard was the Central coordinating agency for marine pollution in the country. He said the Coast Guard had prepared a National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan and was engaged in building up the pollution response capabilities to deal with oil spills in the Exclusive Economic Zone of India.

An aerial view of the scene off the Mumbai coast where merchant ship MSC Chitra was listing after colliding with another cargo ship on August 7, 2010.

He said the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan stipulated the organization and operational details to effectively combat any oil spill contingency.

Mr Ramesh said that, as per information provided by the Maharashtra Government, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) was monitoring samples at the coast to determine the oil content. MPCB has instituted an FIR under sections 7, 8 and 9 of the Environment (Protection) Act, he said.

"Let me assure the House that all agencies of the Government are making all efforts to tackle the situation," he said.

The collision between outbound MSC Chitra and inbound MV Khalijia 3 occurred around 9.15 am on Saturday.

"The collision appears to have been due to the fact that the two vessels were communicating on different VHF channels," Mr Ramesh said.

He said Khalijia 3 collided with the port side of MSC Chitra, damaging one of its hatches leading to ingress of water and its consequent listing. Due to the impact of collision, three containers on its deck dropped into the sea. It was reported that about 200 litres of hydraulic oil had leaked out.

Immediately, two tugs were requisitioned by the Mumbai Port Trust and were rushed to provide assistance. He said 24 crew members were evacuated by the crew of the tugs. The master of the vessel and 5 crew members remained on board and were brought on shore at Mumbai. There were no casualties, he said.

The bow of Khalijia 3 was damaged. This vessel proceeded further and is safely docked at the Mumbai Port Trust, he said.

Mr Ramesh said the agents of MSC Chitra were immediately contacted and told to take steps for securing and salvaging the vessel. The vessel agents have appointed Smit Salvage, Singapore for assessment and salvaging of the vessel. The representatives of this firm boarded the vessel, secured the compartments and dropped the port and starboard anchors to prevent it from drifting. They reported that fuel oil appeared to be leaking from one of the wing tanks.

He said attempts had been made to tow the containers that have fallen off from the vessel. The Navy carried out a survey of the main channel early yesterday morning and it was reported to be clear at the time and limited shipping movements were carried out, he said.

Fallen containers from MSC Chitra being recovered from the sea on August 10, 2010 after the ship was hit by another cargo vessel on August 7.

According to Mr Ramesh, MSC Chitra had in all 1219 containers, 707 in the hold and 512 on the deck.

He said the lashings of the containers could not hold long on account of the high pressure due to the listing of the vessel. This resulted in about 150 containers breaking off and falling into the sea. Consequently, shipping movements have been suspended pending fresh survey of the channel, he said.

Mr Ramesh said the vessel had 2662 tons of heavy oil in its various tanks and 245 tons of diesel oil.

"There is oil spill around the vessel. The coast guard vessel and three JNPT tugs are spraying dispersant under the directions of the Coast Guard. No oil spill has been observed in the harbour.

"At the last survey, the vessel was listing about 35 degrees. The Coast Guard vessel CG 22 and the two tugs of JNPT are standing by for assistance," he added.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard said the plan for salvage and removal of oil had been discussed with Capt Eric J B Kraan, the General Manager of Smit Salvage.

It said the salvor had positioned one floating crane and two tugs for towing and picking up of floating containers drifting in the channel. The salvor agent has confirmed collection of around 20-25 drifting containers.

The agency plans to lift the submerged containers by using air bags and tow them to shallow corner.

The accommodation barge with crane Sea Patriot-C4 arranged for positioning close to MSC Chitra for continuous pumping of oil/salvage. Mobilisation of gears/pumps is also being done. The Coast Guard is liaising with Customs authorities of equipment on priority basis.

This salvage operation is likely to commence by August 13, the Coast Guard press release. Marking of partially submerged containers with buoys is envisaged by harbour control for salvage at later date, it added.

NNN