Chief Minister Pramod Sawant rejected the naphtha leakage story. He said that regular checks are being conducted and that the State disaster management team is fully working on it. On the same day Ports Minister Michael Lobo took journalists for an inspection of the waters around the grounded ship off Dona Paula coast. According to him, the ship is grounded on a rock and there is no oil spillage or any naphtha leak, rejecting the reports of dead fish in Dona Paula as a ‘staged drama to create panic’.
He was assertive that the naphtha is in containers in the centre of ship and cannot leak with the ship having grounded. But, and this is significant, he said, “It can only leak if ship breaks or tilts.” That is the biggest fear at the moment – of the ship breaking or tilting – and it is this that the government must ensure does not occur. Over two weeks after it broke anchor from Mormugao Port Trust in the cyclone related winds and drifted to Dona Paula where it ran aground, there has been no salvage operation that has been commenced. The State is now awaiting the Director General of Shipping to take the necessary measures to pump out the naphtha from the holds of Nu-Shi Nalini and the extract the ship from its current position.
It is when the operation to pump out the chemicals that are within the holds and tanks of the ship begins that will be the most precarious of times. The burning point of naphtha varies from 30 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius, depending on the fraction. As long as the chemical remains in the holds of the ship it cannot lead to a disaster. It is in the event of a leakage or mishap while pumping out the naphtha that there could be an accident. At present the ship is immobile, grounded, as confirmed by the minister on a rock, so the cargo it is carrying cannot harm the surrounding environment or the people.
It is when attempting to refloat the ship that the load will get displaced, especially since it is carrying a liquid cargo – naphtha – and also fuel, which could lead to a breach of the hull, which cannot be overly stressed as the ship has reportedly already experienced an explosion on board when in Cochin Port. Before any pumping out the chemicals or any refloating operation is attempted, the ship’s hull should be thoroughly assessed by stress and strain evaluating engineers, to determine its tensile strength. The ship is as strong as its weakest point, and the possibility of a crack of the hull cannot be eliminated by those conducting the salvage operation.
Goa, however, has to bring in changes to avoid such incidents in the future. This was a ship whose cargo was not destined for Goa, yet it was given permission by the port authorities to anchor in the waters off Goa. Now, having woken up to the dangers of this vessel and its cargo, the State will be requesting the Centre to make it mandatory for all ships entering the State waters to take permission from the Goa government. That is important, but will that put an end to such episodes? The State should frame a policy or rules that will list out the kinds of ships, and the cargoes they contain, that will be allowed to anchor in the waters off Goa, so there is no ambiguity when vessels seek permission to lay anchor. That could ensure the safety of Goa.
