The country’s two major ports — Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) — resumed normal operations from today, a little over a fortnight since the collision between container vessel MSC Chitra and cargo ship Khailijia 3, off the Mumbai coast, reported Business Standard.
The waters will be safe and clear for the vessels to enter without an escort.
While the channels have been cleared, there is no trace of around 293 containers that fell off MSC Chitra. Officials admitted that the containers would have floated towards south Maharashtra and have been declared as good as lost by the shipping ministry.
The collision affected 75 square kms of sea area, out of which 70 square kms are under MPT area and the remaining under JNPT..
Mediterranean Shipping Co, the owners of MSC Chitra, had employed four boats to scan the water. In the last few days, it got seven additional boats and five diving teams to accelerate the salvage operations. To prevent further revenue loss to the two ports and normalise operations, the government and the MSC
Ship Management speeded up the salvage work and deployed more resources. The salvage teams scanned 20 square kms of area every day.
“There is no congestion at the ports now. Around 93 vessels have left MPT and JNPT and 80 others have entered the ports to discharge or upload the cargo,” said joint shipping secretary Rakesh Srivastava.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations has estimated that the accident would impact about US$4 billion trade cargo. The trade incurred a $20 million loss in the first week of collision.
The Directorate General of Shipping, which acts as a regulator for the industry, is likely to come out with an inquiry report on August 31 though a MSC statement blamed the other vessel Khailijia for significant error under the rules of navigation.
MPT is assessing the losses that have been incurred as a result of the collision and it will file the claim with MSC.
“Following the principle of strict liability, MSC will have to bear the cost of operations and the loss of business. This would also include the cost of cleaning up the environment once we have quantified it,” said MPT chairman Rahul Asthana.
The waters will be safe and clear for the vessels to enter without an escort.
While the channels have been cleared, there is no trace of around 293 containers that fell off MSC Chitra. Officials admitted that the containers would have floated towards south Maharashtra and have been declared as good as lost by the shipping ministry.
The collision affected 75 square kms of sea area, out of which 70 square kms are under MPT area and the remaining under JNPT..
Mediterranean Shipping Co, the owners of MSC Chitra, had employed four boats to scan the water. In the last few days, it got seven additional boats and five diving teams to accelerate the salvage operations. To prevent further revenue loss to the two ports and normalise operations, the government and the MSC
Ship Management speeded up the salvage work and deployed more resources. The salvage teams scanned 20 square kms of area every day.
“There is no congestion at the ports now. Around 93 vessels have left MPT and JNPT and 80 others have entered the ports to discharge or upload the cargo,” said joint shipping secretary Rakesh Srivastava.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations has estimated that the accident would impact about US$4 billion trade cargo. The trade incurred a $20 million loss in the first week of collision.
The Directorate General of Shipping, which acts as a regulator for the industry, is likely to come out with an inquiry report on August 31 though a MSC statement blamed the other vessel Khailijia for significant error under the rules of navigation.
MPT is assessing the losses that have been incurred as a result of the collision and it will file the claim with MSC.
“Following the principle of strict liability, MSC will have to bear the cost of operations and the loss of business. This would also include the cost of cleaning up the environment once we have quantified it,” said MPT chairman Rahul Asthana.