Struck by storm, naphtha carrying tanker drifts towards Panaji

Panaji, Oct 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) An unmanned tanker believed to be carrying a cargo of naphtha, anchored five nautical miles off Goa, has begun to drift towards the shores of the state capital due to strong winds and rough seas, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

Sawant said that multiple state and central agencies were trying to stabilise the 3,000 ton capacity tanker and one of the options being explored was to use helicopters to land two experts onboard in order to navigate it to safety.

"They are trying to land two persons onboard the tanker by a helicopter in order to navigate it to a safe area. Because one of its anchors is still in place, the boat is drifting relatively slowly towards shore. It is currently six to seven km from the shore," Sawant said, adding that the drifting vessel could be seen from the grounds of the Raj Bhavan.

"The fear is that if the anchor breaks it could drift faster towards shore," Sawant said.

The Chief Minister added that the state government was contemplating filing a complaint against the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) for negligence, which he said, led to the loaded tanker floating towards shore amid rough sea conditions which have given rise to waves as high as six metres.

"I have told the Collector to probe why such incidents occur. We are filing a complaint against MPT. The Trust is responsible at present, because they towed the ship to a distance of five nautical miles where it was anchored, when the storm occurred and they have not even informed the state government," Sawant said.

Source: IANS