Team Herald
PANJIM: Continuing to accuse the central agency for entire Nu Shi Nalini saga, Ports Minister Michael Lobo blamed Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) for allowing the vessel Nu-Shi Nalini in Goan waters, knowing it contained dangerous chemicals. Lobo said some serious issues need to be dealt with. “How can MPT allow an unmanned ship to enter the harbour without an engine??” he asked while replying to queries when the ship will go.
He said the problem is due to the negligence of the MPT officials who allowed the ship to anchor in the port. He admitted that the ship’s condition is ‘serious’, while efforts are on to refloat it. Lobo said the private company hired to empty the naphtha and salvage the ship is ‘in the process of mobilising its resources’. He said the ship is stuck on a rock in the sea while its condition is serious. “The salvager company will have to refloat the ship before tugging it away,” Lobo said. Lobo said the State government’s first job is to ensure that the ship has to move out, and after that an inquiry would be initiated against officials who allowed the ship.
“The State government will ask North Goa Collector to investigate the events that led the disabled chemical tanker Nu-Shi Nalini to drift and run aground at Dona Paula so that accountability can be fixed. The person who has done wrong has to be nailed,” said Ports Minister Michael Lobo. However, the order for the investigation would be given only after the stricken vessel, which has nearly 2,400 tonne of naphtha in her tanks, is re-floated and towed away, the minister added.
He added that the collector would be tasked with initiating the investigation and deciding, which agency was best placed to investigate the incident, which has brought a potential chemical disaster to the doorstep of the State’s capital. Speaking about the salvage process, Lobo said that Dutch salvage firm Marine Masters had begun mobilising equipment and personnel to commence the salvage operations.
“The work will start. There is a gap because after the work order is issued, they have to mobilise,” said Lobo. He also made it clear that since MPT and Directorate General of Shipping were supervising the salvage operations and issuing the work orders, the State would not have to pay the salvors to remove the vessel. “It is the purview of MPT to ensure that money is paid to the company that is doing the job. The State is not burdened on this part,” he said, before adding that the salvage operation has to be executed systematically.
