India needs to set up its own salvage operations company to act swiftly during maritime disasters The collision between MSC Chitra and Khalijia 3 on August 7 that resulted in shutting down of operations of Jawaharlal Nehru and Mumbai ports have raised several questions on whether Indian ports are equipped enough, both on technical and management fronts, to deal with maritime disasters. Apart from environmental hazards caused due to falling of containers from MSC Chitra, closure of two of India’s premier ports resulted in significant loss of trade revenues.
According to a survey conducted by ShippingBiz36
 0, while 92% of the respondents feel that Indian ports lack modern equipment and management techniques to deal with maritime accidents, 8% refused to comment.It must be noted that ships calling at Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports use a common navigation channel and their movement is controlled by Vessel Traffic Management System equipped with high frequency communication facilities. After the collision, while speaking to press, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Maharashtra minister for Transport said that despite seeking help from the National Disaster Response Force, port authorities of Jawaharlal Nehru and Mumbai ports are not well-prepared to handle the aftermaths of the disaster.
Need to set up salvage operations company
In order to clear the oil spill caused due to the collision, Smit Salvage, a division of Smit International, a Netherland-based company offering maritime services across the world, has been approached. Help from Singapore-based experts handling maritime tragedy has also been sought. Analysts have raised questions as to how long can the country depend on other countries for carrying out salvage operations and are also of the view that it is high time that India starts making investments to set up its own salvage operations company.
It seems that the accident has served as a wake up call for port authorities to better prepare themselves to avert and deal with such accidents. “We have prepared an extensive disaster management plan and are carrying out regular mock drills and meetings to deal with such a crisis,” comments PC Parida, deputy chairman of Mormugao Port Trust. It can be only expected a lesson has been learnt from the mishap and in future such accidents will be minimised.
Arup Choudhury |
