TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The abandoned transhipper M T Pratibha Bheema which posed a threat to the Goa coast has been finally towed away, bringing relief to environmentalists and State administration.
The vessel which was hanging like a Damocles’ sword had encroached into Goa’s coastal waters in December 2012, was sold out to foreign based-Autumn Harvest Maritime Company of Monrovia Liberia on April 5, 2014, at an estimated cost of Rs 53.75 crore through a public auction.
The vessel declared as ‘nuisance’ was auctioned by Sheriff of Mumbai under directions of Bombay High Court.
Addressing media persons, Captain James Braganza said that the oil tanker anchored 8 nautical miles off the Miramar beach has been towed away by the bidder on May 7. The vessel is now moving towards Bhavnagar in Gujarat for ship breaking, he said.
“The State is relieved from the environmental disaster that would have ocured if the vessel was not towed before the monsoon,” Braganza said. He said that the company has paid dues of over Rs 38 lakh to the State government.
The vessel is owned by Pratibha Shipping Ltd, Mumbai. The vessel carrying around 300 tonnes of crude oil was anchored in Goan waters for over a year-and-a-half after the shipping company went bankrupt at the end of 2012. The oil tanker Pratibha Bheema, which was lying stranded 12 nautical miles off the Goa coast in the Arabian Sea, was towed to MPT’s berth in May 2013 but later shifted back within the jurisdiction of Panjim port in September, last year by MPT.
COP had alerted the tourism department about the potential danger if the vessel was not towed away before the 2014 monsoons.
