Authorities are embarking on a detailed inspection of the oil tanker mv Desh Shakti , suspected to be involved in a mid-sea collision off Kochi on August 7. Preliminary inspection had failed to establish its involvement in the collision with a fishing vessel, Oceanic , beyond doubt. Three fishermen were killed and nine went missing in the accident. On Saturday, a Coast Guard vessel Samarth, engaged in rescue operations, recovered the body of Shiju, of Maliyankara, one of the missing fishermen.
Officials said a team headed by Circle Inspector T.R. Santosh of the Fort Kochi coastal police station and officials of the Mercantile Marine Department on Saturday left for Mangaluru to inspect the vessel once again. “Though we identified a few scratches on the vessel, it is yet to be confirmed whether these were caused by the collision. A detailed examination of the hull and keel is required,” said an official.
During the primary inspection, the team collected the navigational documents including the Voyage Data Recorder, which will be forensically examined to decode the data.
“The navigation records will help us confirm the ship’s involvement in the accident and also whether the ship crew ignored pleas of the stricken fishermen,” he added.
The oil tanker, owned by the Shipping Corporation of India, was brought to Mangaluru two days after the collision, and has been berthed at Berth 10 of the New Mangalore Port since August 9.
Though the primary inspection drew a blank, investigators strongly suspect the vessel’s role in the collision considering its presence near the accident site.
Attempts to forensically examine the debris of the sunken boat to ascertain the ship in question have not borne fruit either. “We could recover only a few parts of the boat’s wheel-house, a portion which does not come into contact with the object on the other side during a collision,” sources said.
Rescue teams have been unable to locate the exact location of the collision as well the wreckage of Oceanic , believed to be lying in the sea bed 70 metres deep.
