Motor vessel Pavit, the unmanned vessel which had drifted undetected to Mumbai's Juhu beach on July 31, was on Monday hauled back into to the sea a fortnight later. It will be towed to the Dighi Port in Maharashtra.
The vessel was re-floated back into the sea on Monday around 11.30 a.m., hours after salvage operations resumed. It was swung by 50 degrees from its tilt of 35 degrees and pulled out using two tugs.
“As per the reports from the salvers, the vessel is safe, upright and intact from the structural aspect. One emergency generator has been repaired and is operational. Rest of the machinery is inoperative. The vessel is now being towed by one tug, with another escorting [standby tug] to Dighi Port in Maharashtra (non-major port) and shall anchor within the port limit for ensuring that maritime safety and prevention of pollution in Indian waters is not affected. The salvers have placed an adequate salvage crew on board to monitor the safety, stability and hull integrity of the vessel during its voyage to the Dighi port,” a press note by the Directorate General of Shipping said.
The agency would be conducting an investigation into the drifting of the vessel under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. The owners have been directed to summon the crew for making depositions before the investigating authorities.
Satish Agnihotri, Director General of Shipping told The Hindu over phone that the probe would be conducted at Dighi itself. “The ship will be kept detained during the course of the probe. There are lots of disputes. While the owner claims [that] the crew abandoned the ship, the crew have a different story to tell. I still refuse to believe that the ship came undetected. We are curious about what happened. We also need to examine if Pavit is the same vessel which was headed for Oman.”
The salvage and towing operations were undertaken on the direction and supervision of the Maritime Assistance Service (DG Shipping). All the concerned agencies, namely the flag state, the hull, and machinery underwriter, owners, managers and other coastal state authorities namely Customs, Maharashtra Maritime Board, District Magistrate and police Authorities have been notified of the ship being re-floated, the note said.
In the meanwhile, the source of fuel leak from m.v. Rak Carrier, the Panama-flagged cargo vessel which sank off Mumbai coast, is yet to be ascertained. Owing to rough weather and very poor visibility under the sea surface, “the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) diving support vessel has ceased, temporarily, the operation of identifying the source of leak and plugging the same,” the DG Shipping said.
Minor leakage has been spotted from the vessel. The leak is localised to one nautical mile and a thin sheen of oil is visible up to three nautical miles.
The Coast Guard carried out air sortie on Monday afternoon. Their pollution response vessel CGS Sankalp is present at site, spraying oil spill dispersants continuously. A professional cleaning agency for removing the pollutants from the affected shoreline is also being finalised, the DG Shipping said.
