Containers floating in the sea, pose danger to vessel traffic movement
An alert has been sounded by theGujarat Maritime Board(GMB) for ships approaching Gulf of Kutch, after 17 containers on board vesselMV Rajeev Gandhi slipped off Okha West and began floating in the sea, a GMB official said.
“About 17 containers slipped fromMV Rajeev Gandhi, a vessel container ofShipping Corporation of India (SCI), off Okha West coast on 27 June when it was on way to Mundra port,” chief nautical officer (CNO), GMB,S.C. Mathur said.
“The containers are floating in the sea posing danger to vessel traffic movement,” he said.
“All the authorities concerned like Indian Coast Guard (ICG), director general of shipping and SCI have been informed about the incident, and our vessel traffic management system (VTMS) in Gulf of Kutch is issuing alerts,” he said.
The ICG is keeping a constant vigil on the container movement in the sea, Mathur said.
According to GMB, 16 containers onboardMV Rajeev Gandhi that slipped were empty, while one contains high density polyethylene (HDPE). A tug from Jamnagar port has been deployed to keep a constant vigil over containers and push them towards coast.
Source: The Times of India
