Team Herald
PANJIM: National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and the State Environment Department will jointly assess the environmental damage caused by casino vessel Lucky 7, which has partially sunk at Miramar beach. The vessel has been grounded on the beach since July 16.
Simultaneously, Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd, which owns the vessel, has been asked to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore towards the environmental damage it has caused to the beach, before towing away the vessel.
Sources confirmed that a joint meeting of NIO, Captain of Ports (CoP) and the Environment Department will be held shortly to decide on the environment impact assessment study to be undertaken of the beach. “After the vessel got grounded at Miramar, the vessel was supposed to be towed immediately. However, the owner failed to do so thereby affecting the beach,” sources said.
Due to the Ganesh Chaturthi vacation, the department was not able to undertake the environment impact study, sources said, adding that a joint study along with NIO will be initiated soon. The department has sought from CoP all the reports about the vessel and these are being studied.
As reported by Herald, retired NIO scientist Antonio Mascarenhas has confirmed that the Miramar shoreline has started showing signs of damage with augmented soil erosion and wave-cut vertical scrap along the frontal pioneer dune due to the vessel.
GSPCB Member Secretary Levinson Martins said the Board has granted Lucky 7 owner, Gopal Kanda, permission to tow the vessel on condition that a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore is submitted so as to mend the damage caused to the environment. “Once the vessel is towed away, the Board will conduct its own study to examine the damage caused to the environment. The money will be spent to restore the environment,” he said.
The vessel, which had left MPT dockyard on July 13, had first stranded off Cabo-Raj-Bhavan and then drifted towards Miramar beach. There were a few attempts made to sail the vessel but is had now developed a hole at the bottom, which is growing larger.
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Dubai-based salvor surveying Lucky 7
Captain of Ports (CoP) Department is awaiting a report from Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd (GGHPL) detailing its plan of action in removing the stranded vessel Lucky 7 from Miramar beach.
“We have sought to know whether it has appointed any salvor, assessment of the vessel and plan of action. We won’t tolerate its presence on the beach for a long time,” an official said.
The department had sent a written communiqué to GGHPL last Thursday demanding a reply this week, with a copy of the reply to be sent to North Goa Collectorate. “We have asked the company to re-float and take the vessel out at the earliest,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts from a Dubai-based salvor are on board surveying the ship, based on which a report is expected to be submitted to CoP. “Its experts including divers are on board. They are also conducting underwater survey to check the state of the vessel beneath. They will submit the report accordingly,” a source said.
It is learnt that around 3-4 crew members are still on board waiting for instructions of operations while the condition of the ship remains the same.
