TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The forepart of the ill-fated container ship MOL Comfort, which had split in the Indian Ocean on June 17, sank in the wee hours of Thursday.
In a statement, the ship’s owner, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, reported that the incident took place at about 4 am JST (12.30 am IST) and added that “about 2,400 containers on board the fore part of the vessel sank together, while some have been confirmed floating near the site.”
“About 1,600 metric tons of fuel oil and other oil were estimated to be in the tanks of the fore part. There is an oil film at the site, but no large volume of oil leakage has been observed at this moment.”
The company stated that it had reported the sinking of the forepart to the flag state of the Bahamas, Indian authorities, and other parties concerned. “We will keep the salvage team at the scene to monitor oil leakage and the status of the floating containers,” the statement added.
It may be recalled that the containership while underway from Singapore to Jeddah in the Indian Ocean suffered a crack amidships and ingressing water in the hold on June 17. While the 26 crew members took to lifeboats, all were safely rescued by other vessels in the area. Some of the containers on the vessel were lost overboard or suffered damage during the incident.
