The Indian government does not have a wing for salvage operations like those needed in the aftermath of the collision between MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia on August 7.
The recent collision of two merchant vessels off the Mumbai coast has exposed some grave shortcomings in India’s management of its international sea traffic.
The Indian government does not have a wing for salvage operations like those needed in the aftermath of the collision between MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia on August 7. A Private foreign agency had to be roped in.
With a 7,517-km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) spread over 23,05,143 sq km in the seas, India faces some of the heaviest sea traffic in the world. The country has 13 major ports and 187 minor ones, with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) being the busiest ones. Despite this, there is no government-appointed salvage operator within the country itself.
Director general of shipping Satish Agnihotri said: “Having a salvage operations team with specialised equipment for emergency towing or tugging needs huge investments. Instead of having a team within the country itself, private agencies are roped in from abroad.”
He added, “These agencies have their bases in regions where there is high maritime activity. They have business whenever there are such tragedies or disasters.”
In the case of the recent tragedy in the city, the salvage operations were carried out by a private Netherlands-based firm called Smit Salvage. Its experts were able to reach the Mumbai coast within a short time, as they had their equipment available in Singapore. The operations would have taken longer if they had not reached in time.
Nevertheless, the collision and the resultant oil spill forced the navigational route to the JNPT and the MbPT to be shut for five days. Even after traffic resumed, merchant vessels had to be escorted by the navy’s vessels.
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