Team Herald
VASCO: Taking lessons from the ammonia tanker mishap last Friday at Chicalim, the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) has constituted a special team to conduct surprise checks with breathe analyzer and if any driver moving out of port with cargo is found drunk then port authorities would blacklist the operator.
“Now, after ammonia tanker mishap, we have reviewed the practice in the port where a team has been constituted and this team will conduct surprise check with breathe analyzer. Not only ammonia tankers, but all the trucks moving out of the port will face surprise checks and if any driver is suspected, then, we will take blood sample and if we find that the driver is drunk then we will blacklist the operator. This will bring discipline among the drivers otherwise with tiredness they tend to drink,” MPT Chairman I Jeyakumar said. “We have a dock safety committee headed by Deputy Chairman and we have a rule that if any mishap is reported, then, this committee calls for a meeting with the person concerned and other stake holders. They then review the mitigation measures, analyze root case and finds out loopholes so that such incident is not repeated in future,” he said.
He said that on the ammonia tanker mishap issue it has been informed to MPT by Zuari officials that they are yet to ascertain the cause of accident, but they also claimed that leakage was due to rupture in the tank after the impact.
“ZACL has informed that they have given piece of the material for destructive test in the lab to check whether there is anything wrong in the body metal. Similarly out of six trucks, ZACL has phased out two trucks from the fleet suspecting it as old or under suspicion. I have told Zuari that there should be zero tolerance and after the proper clearance they should induct trucks in the fleet or they should go for new one,” Jeyakumar said.
