He also informed that it would take another week for the owners to remove the grounded pontoon.
Addressing reporters in Vasco on Tuesday, Jayakumar said “Initially our view was that the grounded pontoon at Arossim, falls under MPT jurisdiction as Arossim beach is the southernmost point of the coastal stretch that falls within the MPT’s jurisdiction. However, when we checked the latitude and longitude thoroughly, we found that the area where the pontoon ran aground is half a kilometre away from MPT’s jurisdiction and actually falls under the jurisdiction of Captain of Ports.
In any case, as a goodwill gesture, we are assisting in the operations and our officers are in touch with the owner of the pontoon” Jayakumar said.
He said, “Presently there are two vessels on the beach — pontoon and MT Lotus tug that ran aground while attempting to remove the pontoon. The owners have communicated to us that they are moving one tug from Mumbai which is expected to reach by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning” he said and further opined that “Once the tug arrives, they will first handle the grounded tug which has Greece (lubricants) onboard and other oil materials that can lead to pollution. While the pontoon will not lead to pollution but the same can change the beach profile. Therefore we have suggested to the party to first handle the tug and then the pontoon” he mentioned.
Jayakumar also informed that there was some confusion with regards to removal of pontoon as initially the owners wanted to cut the pontoon and remove the debris, however now they would rather try the pulling method to remove the same. By this weekend the party would be handling the grounded tug only and by next week they will move on to remove the pontoon,” he said.
MPT sources told Herald that, MPT has been trying to take permission from local panchayat for the movement of JCBs near to the beach. The aim is to remove the earth below the grounded pontoon using the JCBs and then to remove the pontoon using both the tugs including the one grounded at the beach.
