Mumbai's visitor Wisdom extracted

View: Wisdom fair at Juhu beach turns ugly

Three weeks after the Singapore-flagged cargo ship MV Wisdom ran aground at Mumbai’s Juhu beach, maritime authorities succeeded in refloating it and tugging it away on Saturday.

“The ship was refloated safely at about 12.45pm during the spring tide by SMIT International, a Singapore-based salvage company, with the help of two powerful tugs,” the Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement.

The vessel was taken to Mumbai outer Anchorage, and eventually it will be towed to Alang in Gujarat for scrapping, DGS said. SMIT Lumba, the main salvor (tug-boat) was assisted by India-flagged Greatship Ashmi, owned by Greatship India, in tugging away the vessel.

On June 12, at about 1am, the ship broke its towing rope while being towed by motor tug Seabulk Plover (Flag St Vincent and Grenadine) on her voyage from Colombo to Alang for scrapping.

After parting of the towing wire approximately 10 miles west off Mumbai Port, the ship started drifting under the influence of strong monsoon winds and eventually ran aground on Juhu beach at about 8pm.

On June 19, the operation to sail MV Wisdom from Juhu beach was postponed for about a fortnight. The DGS statement said that due to engine trouble in the lead tug, there were constraints in taking up salvage efforts sooner.

While it was aground, the ship had become a major tourist attraction, with thousands of people flocking to the beach to get a glimpse. There were fears that Juhu beach would get eroded if the ship were to remain stranded for a longer period of time.