The government has set up a high-level committee to inquire into the “sequence of events” that led to the stranding of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) vessels in cyclone Taukte and leading to the loss of lives.
The panel comprises Director General of Shipping Amitabh Kumar, Director General of Hydrocarbons S.C.L. Das and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Nazli Jafri Shayin, according to a statement from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued on Wednesday evening
“The Committee shall submit its report within one month,” the statement said. It may co-opt any other member and take assistance of any person it deems necessary.
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The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee were to inquire into the sequence of events leading to the stranding and drifting of these vessels, and subsequent events, whether the warnings issued by the Meteorological Department and other statutory authorities were adequately considered and acted upon, the statement stated.
The other ToR include, “Whether the standard operating procedures for securing the vessels and dealing with disaster management were adequately followed. Lapses and gaps in the systems leading to the stranding and drifting of the vessels.” The committee would also give recommendations to prevent recurrence of such incidents, the statement added.
Several vessels of the ONGC with more than 600 people onboard, were stranded in offshore areas off the coast of Mumbai during the cyclone and drifted as the anchors failed due to the very high-speed winds and rough seas. While accommodation Barge P-305 with 261 onboard sank 35 nautical miles off the coast, other vessels were rescued by the Navy and the Coast guard and towed to safety. So far, 37 bodies from Barge P-305 have been recovered while 39 persons are still missing. Some of the barges, belonging to Afcons Infrastructure, were working on an ONGC project.
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