Tragedy averted in Mumbai harbour

A tragedy was averted in Mumbai harbour last week when ill-fated container cargo ship MSC Chitra - which had partly sunk after a collision last August - broke loose from its moorings but was soon recovered, a maritime authority said here Tuesday evening.

The MSC Chitra, bearing a Panama flag, had collided with MV Khalijia-III of St. Kitts and Nevis when it was sailing out of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Aug 7 last year.

According to the director-general of shipping (DGS) Tuesday, MSC Chitra, which had partly sunk and settled on a shallow patch in the main shipping navigation channel, was re-floated around two weeks ago by international salvers appointed by its owners.

It was being prepared to be towed to Alang Port in Gujarat for disposal as scrap.

On Saturday, on account of the strong full moon high tide, its anchor wires split, the DGS said.

The salvers managed to manoeuvre it safely out of the Mumbai Port without causing damage to any other vessels or blocking the busy navigation channel.

Presently, MSC Chita has been moved to a location around 30 nautical miles north of the entrance to Mumbai Port Trust.

The salvers are now engaged with two tugs and one salvage barge to ensure that the vessel can be safely taken to Alang Port.

The DGS, which is monitoring the situation, said that as per reports, there was no hazardous cargo of major quantities of oil on MSC Chitra and it is out of bounds of the Mumbai harbor limits as well as the port entrance.

It may be recalled that post-collision last year, the Mumbai harbour had been virtually blocked for several days and ships had been escorted to and from the Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard ships and helicopters.

The main shipping channel had been rendered hazardous for normal maritime traffic as many containers which had fallen off MSC Chitra were bobbing in the vicinity for many days after the incident.