Forty-five days and counting. Nu-Shi Nalini, the chemical tanker which ran aground, may finally be afloat, but the 2,400 metric tonne of naphtha, continues to be a sticking point for the Goa government as getting it safely out of the State continues to be a challenge.
Marine Masters, a Netherland-based salvage company, appointed to salvage Nu-Shi Nalini and the naphtha cargo in its storage tanks finally completed the task on Friday. The naphtha, despite protests from locals led by a state Urban Development Minister Milind Naik, was emptied into large tanks on land.
Mr. Naik said he had written to Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) chairman about his objection and suggestions. “I had informed that the naphtha should be discharged from the ship and transshipped directly from the mid-stream without bringing the ship alongside a berth, to avoid exposure of the inflammable material on the shore. However, it has now been unloaded. We are keeping a close watch,” he said.
It now will have to be moved to its new owners, a Baroda-based firm which purchased the content during an e-auction held on November 29. The question that remains is how will it be transported, given that there has been opposition to it being in Goa in the first place.
MPT on Sunday said it had finished pumping out 2,400 metric tonnes of naphtha from Nu-Shi Nalini into the tanks owned by Ganesh Benzoplast Ltd at Sada, Vasco. The three-day operation was completed on Sunday morning. This was preceded by the authorities and the salvage crew members towing Nu-Shi Nalini away to the port’s berth number 8.
“The vessel has been kept nearby and will be inspected by officials so that the auction process can begin. The Bombay High Court at Goa of judicature at Bombay admiralty and vice-admiralty jurisdiction and its commercial division have ordered that Nu-Shi Nalini has to be auctioned January 3, to pay Samson Maritime Ltd for expenses incurred to tow the vessel from Kerala to Goa for the operation to remove naphtha and salvaging the ship after it ran aground off Dona Paula,” said officials of the Directorate General of Shipping.
South Goa district collector, Ajit Roy, who inspected Ganesh Benzoplast’s tank farm, found that certain safety measures were not in place. “We have noted that the pipeline from berth 8 to the tanks was exposed at two places. The naphtha has been been sold to a Baroda-based firm which emerged as the highest bidder in the auction conducted by MSTC. The firm will have to arrange for the transport of the naphtha from Ganesh Benzoplast’s tank farm to its new destination,” he informed.
The ship had run aground on October 24 during Cyclone Kyarr and later ended missing several deadlines on draining out the naphtha and refloating the vessel, set by the State government over the past month. The 144-metre chemical tanker MV Nu-Shi Nalini ran aground on a rocky shelf risking its contents.
