Headache for Kannur as towed ships run aground near coast

Kochi: Kannur district administration – which is already battling floods and heavy monsoon – will now face another problem as two Maldivian dead ships (a merchant vessel Ocean Ruler and fishing vessel Oivalli) – which were towed from Maldives to Steel Industries Ltd Kerala’s (SILK) shipbreaking yard at Azhikkal for scrapping – have broken from the tug and run aground at Azhikkal coast on August 8 and August 10 respectively.

Though no casualties were reported, the ships, which reportedly have residual fuel, pose an oil spill threat and navigational hazards along the coast. Also, the vessels could be pulled into sea by strong waves during high tides in the coming days.

Sources said that the towing operation, which ignored heavy monsoon and rough sea, did not have the approval from the Coast Guard or marine mercantile department (MMD). Azhikkal port authorities and SILK are yet to tow away the vessels to safety.

Following this, the Coast Guard has sent a letter to the collector, who (by law) is in charge of the maritime district and hence the ‘Receiver of Wreck’, and the state government seeking immediate intervention. A copy of the letter, accessed by TOI, says SILK failed to follow the rules mentioned in Shipbreaking Code 2013.

The 66.32m-long MV Ocean Ruler and 65.46m-long MV Oivalli have a gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 1,179T and 449T respectively. The tow operations by the Tug Parasea-2 – which started from Maldives on July 23 – reached Azhikkal on August 3, but could not approach the port through the mouth of Valapattanam River that witnessed a heavy outflow from the flooded district. After waiting for 5 days at sea, they tried to resume operations on August 8. During the attempt, the tow of MV Oivalli parted and the vessel drifted around 10km south to Azhikkal and ran aground Dharmadom coast.

“Meanwhile, the tug continued to hold the other ship at the mouth of Valapattanam River. Despite being advised by the Coast Guard to shift to an alternative port till weather improved, repeated attempts to tow the vessel failed on August 10 and the vessel broke free and ran aground south of Azhikkal port. Such risky operations must not be conducted in adverse weather,” said a source.

According to the letter, SILK did not take approval of maritime rescue coordination centre (MRCC) and Coast Guard before entering Indian Sear and Rescue Region (ISRR). The DG Shipping and Coast Guard verification of the genuineness of the documents (at the request of state maritime board) was not completed. Also, the recycler did not implement a local oil spill contingency plan.

“The hull condition would not be good. Even though SILK claimed that there was no fuel/cargo onboard, the presence of residual fuel cannot be ruled out. Any leakage would prove to be a disaster of unimaginable proposition and adversely affect the fishing and tourism industry,” the letter said.

Collector T V Subhash said that he was is looking into the issue and asked port authorities to shift the vessels to safety. “Port officials said that the vessels do not pose safety issues and they are bringing another tug from Mumbai or Mangaluru to tow them away. I will check whether SILK violated rules,” he said.