Odisha: Govt Writes to DGP To Probe Mysterious Sinking of Black Rose Ship

Bhubaneswar: The home department of Odisha government has written a letter to the state director general of police (DGP) to probe into the mysterious sinking of Mongolian Vessel MV Black Rose in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast in 2009.

The development came after right to information (RTI) activist Pradeep Pradhan appealed for CBI investigation into the mystery shrouding the sinking of the ship near Paradi port of Odisha during the grievance hearing of chief minister Mohan Majhi.

Pradhan had sought the urgent intervention of the Odisha government to resolve the issue in the greater interest of the state.

As per reports, the ship had sunk near the Paradip Port of Odisha on September 9, 2009. The ship was allegedly carrying 23,847 metric tons of iron ore and 920 metric tons of furnace oil to China.

With no one claiming the cargo on the ship, it led to speculations that the iron ore worth crores of rupees was being smuggled abroad through the ship. While 26 members of the 27 crew of the vessel were rescued, its chief engineer — Oleksandr Liyushckenko — died in the incident.

It was alleged by the Opposition that some powerful leaders of the then ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders are involved in the case. Sources a former minister hailing from Jajpur district and former Lok Sabha member from Balasore have strong links with the cargo which was allegedly illegally being transported in the ship.

Though CBI inquiry into the incident was demanded many times, the previous Naveen Patnaik government did not pay any heed to it. RTI activists across the state hope the Mohan Majhi government will crack the mystery behind the sinking of the Black Rose and bring to book the accused.