The Kolkata Port had to incur a huge loss of Rs. 18 Cr as a Bangladeshi container vessel capsized at the port on March 24 has caused a huge damage to the facility. The ship is yet to be salvaged. The loss is likely to mount further as the berth where the accident had occurred has been lying non-operational since then and the owner has abandoned the vessel after it capsized, compounding the problem.
The vessel MV MarineTrust-01 which was loaded with 165 containers partly capsized at berth no. 5 of Netaji Subhas Dock of the Kolkata port, now renamed Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP). As the cargo ship tilted to one side, some of the containers went into the water.
”The berth remains non-operational as the vessel has not been salvaged yet and the owner abandoned it. The port is in dialogue with the insurance company through the ship’s agent to get the ship salvaged. The port is losing Rs 40 lakh per day and now it has crossed Rs 18 crore,” a port official told PTI. The SMP will claim damage from the insurance company. “The H&M (hull and machinery) insurer has declined to declare the vessel a total loss. So, technically, the owner cannot absolve himself of his responsibility of salvaging the vessel,” the official said.
Hull and machinery insurance covers for damage to a vessel’s hull, machinery and equipment caused by collisions and other perils.
”As the owner has abandoned the vessel, now the port or the P&I club (a non-profit marine insurers’ association) will have to take the responsibility for re-floatation of the vessel and restoration of the berth,” an official said.
The salvage operation was initially handed over to a salvor by the owner but it was not recognised by the insurers. The vessel was scheduled to travel to Chittagong port in Bangladesh from Kolkata. Preliminary enquiry revealed that the accident took place due to unplanned loading of cargo. The 15 crew members of the vessel had been asked to stay in Kolkata.
