VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The seabed off Candolim beach has finally been cleared of all the submerged metallic wreckage of River Princess as the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) survey confirms the sea bed is free from all obstacles.
In a confidential report on geophysical survey submitted to Goa government, the NIO has also pointed out that the underneath portion of the seafloor does have presence of iron metal. Herald has accessed certain portions of the report through secretariat sources that also mentions it will not impact the marine life or environment in the present circumstance.
“The seabed is free from all the obstacles. However, in a certain portion underneath the seabed, a significant amount of iron metal is present. But this is not hazardous to marine life in the current circumstance,” the secretariat official told this reporter on condition of anonymity.
While the report has come as a relief to Arihant Shipbreakers that had earlier failed to completely remove large remnants of the grounded vessel, the state is not hurrying to release their payment of Rs 99 crores citing ‘salavage operation isn’t declared complete.’
“We are happy the sea floor is finally clear of all the debris but the contractors will have to conduct another reccee. They haven’t met all the terms and conditions mentioned in the salvage operations… As of now, the payment will not be released so soon,” the bureaucrat said.
In October 2012, NIO’s report had found presence of large remnants of the grounded ship at water depths between three and 10 meters off the beach where the vessel was grounded. While the penetration of the wreck into seabed could not be ascertained then, a large part of the metallic structure was found to be exposed to water, protruding several feet above the seabed. The government had then halted the payment to Arihant until the wreckage was entirely removed from the seabed.
The government ordered another wreckage removal operation. The contractors, in October 2014 submitted a report to the Tourism Department claiming removal of the wreckage following which NIO was requested to conduct a fresh survey.
The survey, carried out from November 7-10, 2014 by two separate NIO teams – geophysical survey and a diving team consisting of seven members each. Since the visibility was poor on the final day of the survey, the diving technicians had postponed underwater inspection to December 5. The team headed by Chief Scientist Dr Anil Chaubey under the supervision of NIO Director Dr S W A Naqvi submitted its report, which came up for discussion before the government this week.
The technicians used a variety of methods some of which included a magnetometer to detect magnetic anomalies of various types, sidescan sonar system to ascertain if any metallic objects are still buried in the sand, eco-founder for water depth measurement and sub bottom profiling to know what is below the seabed.
