A 77-m long Panama-flagged oil container ran aground off Juhu beach last morning, already drawing curious visitors; it's expected to be here for two more days
A 77-m long Panama-flagged oil container ran aground off Juhu beach last morning, already drawing curious visitors; it's expected to be here for two more days
After MV Wisdom's long halt off the Juhu beach in June, Panama-flagged MT Pavit, an oil tanker, which ran aground here around 11 am yesterday is the new crowd-puller on the city's shores.
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All of 77 m in length, it is no match to Wisdom.
Curious visitors watch the Panama-flagged MT Pavit,
an oil tanker, which ran aground at Juhu beach yesterday
But officials believe it may still attract curious tourists and citizens, again resulting in problems of traffic and safety near the beach.
The ship came to a halt following engine failure and flooding inside the ship, which is carrying around 10 metric tonnes of fuel and gas oil.
The Mumbai Police has taken pre-emptive measures to avoid any mishaps or instances of drowning. All access points are being manned by guards so no one sneaks up to the tanker.
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The vessel is expected to be here for two more days, as the Indian Coast Guard has already sent another ship, ICG Amrit Kaur, to assess and anchor the stationary boat.
Sanjay Pawar, assistant police inspector, Juhu police station was at the spot. "The ship is just another oil tanker, not as admirable as MV Wisdom.
But today being a Sunday, curious people may crowd the beach to see it. So our major concern for now is the safety of citizens. We would not allow anyone to go near the shore."
The lifeguards at Juhu Beach said, "We could spot the ship at 6.00 am about 3-4 km off the shore. As the tide subsided, the ship sailed neared and parked itself some 30-40 feet off the beach.
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We went near the ship to see if anyone needed rescue but there was no one aboard."
In fact, the rescue operation had already been undertaken by the ICG on July 29, following a distress call sent by Pavit to Britain's Maritime Rescue Coordination Committee. An Indian ship, MT Jag Pushpa, rescued the 13 crew members aboard the Pavit.
Defence PRO, Captain Manohar Nambiar, said, "When the Coast Guard received the news, it immediately sent a ship and a helicopter to anchor the Pavit and rescue the crew members.
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The ship is completely the responsibility of its owners, a Dubai-based company, which was under the impression that the ship had sunk.
"As of now the oil container does not pose any threat of leakage, as there is always another layer added in such ships to prevent a spill."
Voices
When we saw the news on TV we could not resist coming here. We thought it would be like Wisdom but
we are disappointed.
Annette Crieado, a resident of Juhu Scheme
Despite the rains, I came
to look at the ship out of curiosity as everyone was talking about it.
Hilda Pavaskar
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