KOLKATA: A Bangladeshi barge, with fly ash on board, sank in the Hooghly near Pujali in South 24 Parganas on Thursday morning after colliding with a vessel of the Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Trust (SPMPT).
The port vessel — DV Rabindra — was on its way to Diamond Harbour when the Bangladeshi barge entered the navigation channel without warning. The collision left both vessels damaged. While the DV Rabindra managed to sail away towards Diamond Harbour, the master of the barge — MV Mamatamoyee Maa— attempted to sail the vessel towards the shore. But it sank close to Akra due to the bore tide. All 13 crew members were rescued.
“Around 10.30am, the DV Rabindra master spotted the barge in the channel. Barges in the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route are supposed to stay away from the navigation channel. The DV Rabindra was on an urgent buoy repairing work, but tried to take evasive action. The master also asked MV Mamatamoyee Maa to pull away, but it didn’t. SPMPT chairman Vinit Kumar has ordered an inquiry,” a senior port official said.
Manirul Islam, pilot of the MV Mamatamoyee, admitted that his vessel was not supposed to be in the navigation channel.
“I realized that there was something wrong and was trying to call the pilot of another barge ahead of us over the wireless when the collision occurred,” he said.
The port vessel — DV Rabindra — was on its way to Diamond Harbour when the Bangladeshi barge entered the navigation channel without warning. The collision left both vessels damaged. While the DV Rabindra managed to sail away towards Diamond Harbour, the master of the barge — MV Mamatamoyee Maa— attempted to sail the vessel towards the shore. But it sank close to Akra due to the bore tide. All 13 crew members were rescued.
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Every effort should be made to assess the possible impact, if any, of the incident on the marine bio-diversity of the region.
“Around 10.30am, the DV Rabindra master spotted the barge in the channel. Barges in the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route are supposed to stay away from the navigation channel. The DV Rabindra was on an urgent buoy repairing work, but tried to take evasive action. The master also asked MV Mamatamoyee Maa to pull away, but it didn’t. SPMPT chairman Vinit Kumar has ordered an inquiry,” a senior port official said.
Manirul Islam, pilot of the MV Mamatamoyee, admitted that his vessel was not supposed to be in the navigation channel.
“I realized that there was something wrong and was trying to call the pilot of another barge ahead of us over the wireless when the collision occurred,” he said.
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