Govt should inquire into naphtha ship's entry

We are all too familiar with the River Princess saga that prolonged for over a decade, before it was finally cut up at site and it’s metal sold as scrap costing the State an enormous amount of money. But before that, there was the sea transporter and between the River Princess and Nu-Shi Nalini was M V Qing. All ships that posed a threat to the State at varying points of time.

At this moment, soon coming to be a month since the chemical tanker drifted from the outer anchorage of Mormugao Port Trust and ran aground off Dona Paula, salvage work is still to begin. It will, as per the latests reports, be another 10 to 15 days before the salvors begin any operations on the ship. The work order is yet to be awarded to the Dutch firm that has been selected for the task. Given the slow pace that governments in the past have reacted on such accidents, the reaction time to time has been quicker, but still leaves much to be desired in pace.

Goa, however, has to be alive to the fact that it cannot escape shipping disasters. It has natural ports that brought the Portuguese, who were looking for just that, to the place. And because of this, there are numerous shipwrecks in the waters off Goa, some research puts the number at 600. These have even turned into tourist attractions, with diving expeditions to the shipwrecks. The River Princess had become one such attraction during the decade it stayed off Candolim beach, hopefully, Nu-Shi Nalini will not turn into another such attraction, or rather an eyesore off the coast of Dona Paula. 

The point being made is that shouldn’t the State be aware of every ship and it’s contents when it comes to Goan waters? The ship with naphtha came, MPT allowed it to dock, the State remained in the dark. A NGO wrote to various government authorities about the hazardous cargo the ship had within its holds, yet no action was taken by any of the State’s authorities during the time it was at MPT. It was only when the ship broke anchor and ran aground that the State has taken cognisance of the matter and is now acting to salvage the ship and it’s contents. 

Yet, had the State acted when the NGO brought up the issue – the NGO’s apprehensions were also reported in the media – the current situation would not have arisen. There was negligence, there was ignorance of the matter – perhaps this was even deliberate – that has led to the situation. If Kochi port did not want the ship in its waters, there must have been a reason for this. So why did Goa allow this chemical tanket that was unwanted at another port to anchor off Mormugao? This calls for an inquiry by the government, so that such incidents, posing a threat to life and the environment, are not repeated.

MPT has submitted in the High Court of Bombay that the vessel poses imminent danger due to its bottom breaking and the quantity of naphtha on board. This is not a statement made by non-experts, so there can be no doubt that we are facing a situation that is possibly explosive in nature. The laws and the rules must be amended so that the State is given a manifest of the contents of all the vessels entering Goan waters. It may not stop the entry of hazardous chemicals into the State, but it will at the very least make the government aware of what the ships are carrying.