The Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration on Thursday cancelled the voyage of Port Blair-bound m.v. Harshavardhana following failure to rectify the snag in one of the generators, putting a big question mark over seaworthiness of passenger ships owned by the Union Territory.
The decision to refund the ticket fare and canteen coupons brought to an end the agonising wait of 500 odd passengers, who became victims of a technical snag noticed in the ship six hours after it left the Visakhapatnam Port on Tuesday. The ship was detained 14 nautical miles from the harbour and later on the intervention of top officials of the port, the ship captain was directed to sail back to the city for prompt action in repairing the defunct generator.
The incident occurred due to negligence in ensuring total fitness of the large passenger vessel with deadweight 5269 tonnes. The ship was built in 1974 and had been facing regular repairs and breakdowns. Normally, it takes 56 hours to reach Port Blair by ship from here. “As the life of hundreds of passengers, mostly labourers, was at stake, we advised the island administration to cancel its voyage immediately instead of allowing the uncertainty to continue further on whether it will resume its journey or not,” Visakhapatnam Port Chairman M.T. Krishna Babu told The Hindu .
It is reliably learnt that the decision to cancel the voyage was taken after technicians sent by the Visakhapatnam Port found it ‘very difficult’ to rectify the generator.
Spares available in Sweden
m.v. Harshavardhana has 4 generators and to run the ship with continuous supply of power, it needs three leaving one to meet any emergency. Sources said one of the main spare parts required to repair the damaged generator was only available in Sweden. The indent for replacing the spare parts was reportedly made in March. The island administration in the Union Territory owns vessels Harshavardhana, Swaraj Dweep, Akbar and two others, which ferry passengers and essentials to the Andamans from Port Blair to Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Kolkata. The ships are manned by the Shipping Corporation of India. An official of the Shipping Department of the islands said that only after seaworthiness certification by the Mercantile Marine Department, they were allowed to operate the passenger vessels.
