Chennai oil spill: Port pilot warned 7 minutes prior to collision

Chennai: The captain of the B W Maple, the merchant vessel leaving the Kamarajar Port on the fateful day of the collision, did not pay heed to the warning that it was on a collision course with M T Dawn Kanchipuram, which apparently led to the accident during the early hours of January 28, the Chairman of the only corporatised major port in the country admitted on Monday.

MA Bhaskarachar, Chairman of the Kamarajar Port, attributed the error to the negligence on the part of the captain of the outbound vessel, B W Maple, which was leaving the port premises after emptying Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

“Six to seven minutes prior to the accident, the Port pilot of B W Maple, who disembarked at breakwaters had warned (from the signal station) of a collision.

The captain of B W Maple paid no heed,” Mr Bhaskarachar told the media.

Though he said there was no significant damage to B W Maple, he refused to elaborate on the extent of damage further.  “Taking hints from the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS), we forewarned both the vessels. They failed to hear it. It was the liability of both the vessels to change the navigation course,” a senior official from the port told Deccan Chronicle.

The Chairman's revelation is just a tip of an iceberg to many questions that are being asked by environmentalists and others who have been worried about the subsequent oil spill that has affected the entire coast from Ennore to Injambakkam.

The answers to questions like why the two vessels navigated in the same channel and whether they followed the prescribed speed limits are yet to be known.  The Kamarajar Port and Director General of Shipping are conducting separate inquiries into the incident.

insurance claims desk set up for oil spill victims: DG shipping

Instituting a quick procedure for computing the loss, the Director General (DG) of Shipping on Monday said that the enquiry on the collision of two vessels, Dawn Kanchipuram and B T Maple, is likely to be completed in two months.

She held discussions with the claims desk established by the two vessels in the city and said that the fishing societies would be guided in the compensation procedure. “Under Civil Liability chapter of the Merchant shipping act, the vessels would pay adequate compensation to fishermen, following an assessment,” DG Shipping, Malini V Shankar told the media on Monday.

“The claims desk has been authorised to receive claims from affected parties who have suffered economic loss or have incurred expenditure in cleaning the oil pollution,” she said.

Notices to ship owners have been issued under Section 356 (J) and 356 (K) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 to clear the oil spill and to provide access to the vessels for the investigation.

A specialist on oil spill response from International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation has already reached Chennai and is inspecting the accident spot.

The vessels’ insurers would reimburse the expenditure spent by various departments including Coast Guard, district administration and Kamarajar Port for shoreline cleaning and disposal operations, she mentioned.

“The damaged vessel, Dawn Kanchipuram has been moved from commercial berth area and safely berthed inside the Port Premises. Both the ships are restrained from leaving the port premises,” she said.

Detailing the incident, which occurred on January 28, she said, “The mishap resulted in the rupture to the left side of the tanker ship. The water tight integrity of the other adjacent tanks was also breached.”

The ship’s cargo -- 26,806 metric tonne of motor spirit and 6,008 metric tonne of high speed diesel - were safely discharged to tanks present in the port, she said, adding the oil spillage that occurred was the fuel from the Dawn Kanchipuram.