Tugboat tragedy: Ship was unfit to sail, crew couldn’t swim, says chief engineer

The firm which owned the nowsunken Varaprada on Tuesday refuted the tugboatrsquos chief engineerrsquos allegations that the poor state of the safety equipment led to its sinking Varaprada submerged in the Arabian Sea on May 17 and 11 of its 13 crew members died Its Chief Engineer Francis Simon and another crew member are the only survivorsThe 13 crew members of VarapradaGlory Ship Management Pvt Ltdrsquos Managing Director Rajesh Kumar Shahi held a press conference on Tuesday and claimed that Varapradarsquos safety was up to the mark and all lifesaving equipment was present on the boat Shahi said he had informed the captain about the situation but he was very confident about everyonersquos safety and remained inside the danger zoneAlso Read Mumbai Sunken tugboat Varaprada located search on for victimsSpeaking to midday Chief Engineer Francis Simon said the horror of May 17 could have been avoided if all necessary lifesaving equipment were available on board ldquoThe life raft was punctured the maintenance of the tug boat was very poor the tugboat was unfit to sail It sank right in front of my eyes and the crew members died screaming for help It was a miracle that we survived as a navy ship was passing by to rescue those onboard barge P305rdquoHe alleged that the crew members didnrsquot know how to swim ldquoSwimming is mandatory and part of the training to save lives if faced with such a situationrdquo When asked why he never complained about it earlier Simon said ldquoit is the captainrsquos responsibility to inform the concerned authorities but the bigger question is how the ship was allowed to sailrdquo Shahi however said ldquoA ship gets a sailing permit only after all necessary certification And we had all safety audits from DG Shipping ONGC and Shiv Safety and Security Auditrdquo He claimed that they had informed all concerned authorities after losing contact with the shipGlory Ship Management Pvt Ltdrsquos Managing Director Rajesh Kumar ShahildquoWe had given all necessary information to the captain in fact I spoke to everyone around 11301230 pm on May 16 and everyone was very happy as they were coming back home after five months They were also asked to come to the safe place and the captain was very confident that the cyclone will not harm anyonerdquo Shahi added ldquoAs far as the safety equipment are concerned he Simon saved himself using the life raftrdquo he said He also refuted Simonrsquos claim that the engine was in poor working conditionAccording to the company the ship was 20 nautical miles inside the sea and needed three hours to come to the shore ldquoThey were confident that the cyclone would pass without causing any problems but it became severe Our assessment is that the moment the crew started moving towards Mumbai they came in contact with the severe cyclonerdquo Shahi said