PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ordered a magisterial arrest of the unmanned vessel’s captain so that he doesn't escape. The CM said the captain of Nu-shi Nalini should help in unloading the flammable cargo inside his vessel to the new vessel which is expected to reach Goa by Sunday.
Nu-shi Nalini is stranded in the Arabian Sea around 2.5 kms distance from the Dona Paula coastline after it drifted from Vasco due to rough seas.
During a press briefing at his official residence in Panjim on Friday afternoon, Chief Minister Sawant said that he has ordered for the magisterial arrest of the captain of the unmanned vessel Nu-shi Nalini containing Naphta for abandoning the vessel in the sea waters without taking precautionary measures and for not unloading the Naphta at the MPT port on arrival.
The CM said a special meeting was convened with the Collector, secretary revenue, Captain of Ports, MPT officials and the operators of the stranded vessel including the captain from whom details were obtained regarding the stranded vessel.
Sawant said instructions have been issued to the authorities what precautions and preventive measures to be taken to avoid such accidents.
“An order has been issued by me to file a complaint against MPT, the vessel owner as a precautionary measure a magisterial arrest of vessel captain has been initiated," the CM said.
Commenting on the spillage issue, Sawant said that a private partner who is an expert in this field has been taken onboard in case of diesel or oil spillage. He also mentioned that another bigger vessel is reaching Goa on October 27, which will be used for shifting Naphta from Nu-shi Nalini to this ship.
The abandoned vessel is being monitored very closely, Sawant said, adding that a team has been formed under the Secretary Revenue to track the movements of unmanned Nu-shi Nalini.
The DG Shipping, Ministry of Shipping and Central government have been intimated about the status of the vessel.
CM claimed that there is “nothing to worry as most of the precautionary measures have been taken to avoid any untoward incident.”
According to the information available with him, Sawant said “the vessel is grounded on a hard rock and the anchor of the vessel has been partially broken.”
“There is a need of a joint operation. Cooperation is needed from MPT, the vessel captain, owner of the vessel and the experts to unload the ship of the dangerous cargo,” he told media.
Sawant also denied receiving any letter from a NGO and said he had only read about it and added that he has already initiated action in this matter.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the conference, Michael Lobo, Deputy Chief Minister of Goa, mentioned that a ship having flammable cargo inside, and stranded on a rock in the rough seas is a dangerous situation.
The vessel, whose engine stopped functioning, was towed from Kerala to Goan sea waters. It was supposed to be sent for repairs after unloading the naphta at MPT port.
Lobo said that “Customs did not give them clearance and there was some legal disputes about the vessel.”
“Experts from Pune and Mumbai have been flown in to take precautionary measures to avoid any explosion. If the weather gets clear by Saturday, we will try to unload the cargo from the vessel into smaller boats to be taken to MPT.
“Around 200mt Naptha is stored inside the vessel. This operation may take 7 to 15 days. The damage caused to the ship will come to light by tomorrow. Measures are being taken to stop and restrict the spillage of oil if any in that area by spraying some chemical. No fishermen will be allowed within 2 kms radius of the vessel. Patrolling boats from Goa Police Coast guards have been asked to help in this operation,” he said.
“I had intimated about this issue to the authorities in July but no action was initiated,” Lobo added.
“I feel we should have intervened in this matter long ago. I have requested our Chief Minister to write to the Union Shipping Ministry and request strict action against MPT for carrying out such illegal activities,” Lobo added.
