Pollution

Citation

(2005), "Pollution", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 14 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2005.07314bac.002

Pollution

16 June 2004Erika (Malta)

The French Court of Appeal has dropped all proceedings initiated against the Malta Maritime Authority and its executive director Lino Vassallo in connection with the non specific tanker Erika disaster. The Court of Appeal in Paris ruled yesterday that the MMA was an extension of the Maltese state and therefore the administration of the Malta Flag was covered by the states’ “immunity of jurisdiction.” In December 1999, Erika, a Maltese registered oil tanker, sank off the coast of France, spilling 10,000 tonnes of oil in one of the worst environmental disasters. The toxic cargo coated the seabed and washed up on the coastline, prompting a long and expensive operation to get rid of the muck. In a somewhat unexpected twist of events last September, Parisian inquiring magistrate Dominique de Talance held Mr Vassallo and the MMA personally responsible for “endangering the lives of others” and of having been “an accomplice in pollution”. There were no fewer than 76 plaintiffs claiming damages in the criminal proceedings. Whilst 74 of the parties refrained from indicating the exact extent of their claim at the start of proceedings, the French state and the League for the Protection of Birds filed a claim for E76 million and E14 million respectively, besides unquantified damages. It was estimated that plaintiffs could have claimed damages of more than E1 billion. Mr Vassallo and MMA chairman Marc Bonello appeared before the French judge last September. But the authority’s lawyers maintained that the magistrate was violating Mr Vassallo’s and Dr Bonello’s state immunity, given that they were representing a Maltese government authority. The two MMA officials sought recourse to the French Appeals Court, claiming that the magistrate had no jurisdiction over a foreign government or a state official exercising his normal duties. When the magistrate still went ahead and summoned the two MMA officials to appear again last December, they were instructed not to do so, given that they were still awaiting the Appeals Court’s ruling. Their absence in court provoked the magistrate to threaten to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr Vassallo and Dr Bonello. The legal counsel representing both Mr Vassallo and the MMA in France maintained that the authority had in fact abided by the established international regulations governing ship registration, adding that the French court had no jurisdiction to uphold or refute the local authority’s decision. The Court of Appeal of Paris appointed a sitting for May 10 during which further arguments were presented, based on the fact that the expert’s report on which Ms de Talance relied had been declared inadmissible by the Supreme Court. The court yesterday accepted the arguments of state immunity and decided in favour of the MMA and Mr Vassallo, stating that since they were acting on behalf of the Maltese state they should benefit from immunity of jurisdiction. There is no right of appeal against this decision of the Court of Appeal. Interested plaintiffs may however file proceedings attacking the validity of the decision within five days. Both Dr Bonello and Mr Vassallo expressed their satisfaction at the decision. In a statement the MMA said: “Despite the general conviction that MMA’s and Mr Vassallo’s conduct were correct, responsible and professional – as was confirmed by the conclusions of various technical inquiries into the incident – the government acted strongly to protect the sovereignty of the state, its entities and their officials”. The MMA said it had always maintained that, according to international law, the French courts did not have the necessary jurisdiction to press charges. The MMA and the Maltese authorities cooperated extensively with the French authorities in the investigation. Dr Bonello and Mr Vassallo expressed their appreciation for the government’s support, particularly from Communications Minister Censu Galea and Anthony Borg Barthet, who was Attorney General at the time. The MMA and Mr Vassallo were assisted by Franco Vassallo of the legal firm Mamo TCV, together with his French colleagues Renard and Associates. Since the incident, the Maltese government has been trying to rid itself of the tag that the Maltese maritime flag is one of convenience.

16 June 2004Aral Sea (Singapore)

Thomas L. Sansonetti, the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Paula D. Silsby, the US Attorney for the District of Maine, announced today that the chief engineer for crude oil tanker Aral Sea (58129 gt, built 1999) has pled guilty for his role in concealing the overboard discharges of oil contaminated bilge waste from Aral Sea through false log books and statements designed to deceive the US Coast Guard. The defendant, Chief Engineer Jarnail Singh, worked on board Aral Sea, which is owned by Harike Shipping, Inc. and operated by Tanker Pacific Management PTE LTD. The government’s investigation began on May 21 when members of the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Office discovered waste oil in the overboard piping of the tanker during a routine inspection in Portland. The chief engineer of the ship was asked about the operation of the ship’s oil water separator, which is a piece of pollution prevention equipment required by MARPOL, a treaty ratified and implemented by the USA. MARPOL and US law limit the oil content of discharges from ships to not more than 15 parts per million. The oil water separator is the required equipment that, when operated correctly, will prevent discharges in excess of 15 parts per million. In response to the Coast Guard’s question to Singh regarding the oil water separator, Singh told the Coast Guard that it was working properly. Singh also told the Coast Guard inspectors that he did not know how oil could have gotten in the overboard piping. Upon further investigation, the Coast Guard learned that while the vessel was at sea, Singh had directed that the oil water separator be “tricked” by running fresh water through a sensor designed to stop discharges containing oil instead of using a sample of the actual discharge. The tricking of the sensor can allow oil in excess of the legal limits to be discharged overboard, and explains the oil found in the overboard piping by the Coast Guard inspectors. During the course of the Coast Guard inspection, Singh also presented the Oil Record Book, a log required by MARPOL and US law in which all discharges are to be accurately recorded. The log created the false impression that the ship’s equipment was being operated properly. For his false statements and presentation of false records to the Coast Guard during the inspection, Singh faces a maximum penalty of up to five years imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000, and probation for up to three years. The investigation was conducted by the US Coast Guard Investigative Service with assistance from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, the Coast Guard First District Legal Office, and the Coast Guard Head Quarters Office of Investigation and Analysis. The case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine and the Environmental Crimes Section of the US Department of Justice. The investigation is continuing.

26 June 2004Amorgos (Greece)

The first compensation made to Taiwanese individuals in connection with an oil spill by bulk carrier Amorgos has been received by the Hengchun Fishermen’s Association in Pingtung County, the group’s leader said yesterday. More than 4,000 group members affected by the spill should be compensated by August, he said. On Jan 14, 2001, Amorgos, Panaji for Shangha,i with iron ore, ran aground near Kenting National Park in Pingtung County due to bad weather. Four days later, 1,150 tonnes of fuel oil remaining in the vessel began to leak, contaminating 6,987 square metres of the Lungkeng Ecological Reserve. The accident caused serious water pollution, damaged coastal ecological systems and interfered with fishing in the area. After spending months cleaning up the polluted coast, both public and private sectors sought compensation from Assuranceforeningen Gard, representing the vessel’s owners. According to association executive Yeh Ming-shun, US$3.6 million, which is about 92 percent of the granted compensation, was transferred into the association’s account on Thursday (June 24). The remainder is scheduled to be transferred on July 14. “We have to conduct a meeting after July 14 to decide how to compensate our members,” Yeh said. He said that most association members agreed to use part of the compensation as a fund for future ecological preservation. As for the public sector, on the first anniversary of the oil spill Hau Lung-bin, then Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) chief vowed to seek NT$1 billion in compensation. Three months later, Taiwan received NT$61.3 million in compensation for the clean-up costs. The payment marked the first time the nation’s public sector has received compensation for marine pollution. However, the compensation was for the clean-up only and did not include damages or lawyers’ fees. In January 2003, Hau said the agency had requested an additional NT$900 million in compensation from the insurance company but the amount was reduced in negotiations to NT$350 million. At that time, EPA officials said that Norwegian lawyers estimated it might have taken four or five years for a decision to be made. The vessel’s owners also paid a NT$9 million fine to the Pingtung County Government last year.

1 July 2004Pantokratoras (Cyprus)

The runaway Romanian master and Greek owner of Cypriot general cargo Pantokratoras, accused of causing pollution off the French Atlantic coast last December, have been fined a record E350,000 ($417,000). A court in Brest heard in May that 54-year-old Captain Adrian Inel refused to obey an order from the French judiciary to come into port for questioning after his vessel, Pantokratoras, was spotted from the air in the Bay of Biscay at the head of a 37km pollution slick on December 19. Instead, he headed out of France’s exclusive economic zone and continued his journey southwards towards the Strait of Gibraltar. The vessel was kept under air surveillance by the French and Spanish authorities, however, and was intercepted by a French naval vessel as it was returning northward towards the port of Le Havre in late January. It was brought into the port of Brest under escort. Its owners, listed by Equasis as Piraeus-based Aghios Charalambos Shipping Co., were obliged to accept payment of E500,000 bail to have the vessel released. At the hearing in May, the prosecutor pleaded for imposition of a E500,000 fine on the owners and master of Pantokratoras, taking into account the master’s conduct. Giving its judgment on Tuesday (June 29), however, the court opted for a smaller but still record E350,000 fine and E2,000 damages each to a number of environmental organisations which had laid complaints. Captain Inel himself denied having deliberately caused pollution. He said that if polluted substances had escaped from the vessel, they had been the result of accidental leakage.

7 July 2004Prestige (Bahamas)

A team of specialist companies led by Repsol YPF has recovered 2,500 tonnes of fuel oil from the wreck of crude oil tanker Prestige. That represents about 20 percent of the total volume of oil still trapped in the bow section of the tanker and has been hailed as a promising start to the extraction operation. The work so far has been carried out using two specially designed shuttle bags, but a third is expected to arrive on site this week and should help to speed up the operation. The shuttle bags float slowly to about 60m below the surface, from where the oil is pumped into another vessel chartered for the operation, Odin, before being transferred to the Repsol YPF refinery in Corunna. Five shuttle bags have already been built, three for use in the innovative operation and two as backup in case anything goes wrong. Each has a capacity of 300 tonnes. Experts involved in the operation expect to recover about 90 percent of all the remaining cargo using the gravity method, and will subsequently employ a process of bioremediation to speed up the natural biodegradation of the remaining oil. Spain’s government has increased by Euro 250 million the level of funds available from the state for compensation claims arising from the Prestige oil spill. The government acknowledged that claims would surpass the Euro 160 million limit set by the previous administration.

21 July 2004. Most of the tar-like oil from the crude oil tanker Prestige that sank off Spain’s northwest coast two years ago will be recovered by mid October, the company in charge of the cleanup said. Repsol YPF, the private Spanish oil company, said this week it expects to remove 90 percent of the oil remaining in the wreck. The rest is stuck on the tanker walls and eventually will be eaten away by bacteria. The Prestige split apart in a storm off the Galicia coast and sank on November 19, 2002, disgorging most of its 77,000 tons of thick, toxic fuel oil onto the beaches of northern Spain and south-western France. About 13,800 tons remains in the wreck. During a tour of Repsol’s technology and research centre in Mostoles, south of Madrid, company officials on Monday (July 19) explained the oil salvage technique. Through holes drilled in the vessel, the oil floats out – because it is less dense than sea water – into double-lined plastic bags that are 30 metres tall, equivalent to the height of an eight-storey building. The bags are then shuttled to just under the ocean surface for transfer to a vessel. The process takes about four hours for each bag. The oil is then taken to a refinery by land. Oil has never before been removed from this depth. The cost of the project is about 99 million Euros, the government recently said.

2 August 2004Buffalo 405 (USA)

Product tanker Torm Mary (30058 gt, built 2002) spilled about 33-thousand gallons of fuel oil into the Neches River today after tank barge Buffalo 405 (1619 gt, built 2003) breached the vessel’s hull during fuelling. Jimmy Suydam, a spokesman for the Texas General Land Office said it appears the spill happened today shortly after midnight at the Sun Anchorage on the Orange County side of the river near Nederland. That’s between Beaumont and Port Arthur. The fuel barge was owned by Houston-based Buffalo Marine Service. Buffalo vice president Chuck King says Torm Mary was being refuelled when the tow vessel pushed the barge into the vessel. No injuries were reported, and King says booms were deployed within seven minutes. But he says some of the thick fuel oil apparently has reached the river shore across from Nederland.

2 August 2004. Tank barge Buffalo 405 was in contact with product tanker Torm Mary off Port Arthur today. Damage to both vessels is unknown but more than 30,000 gallons of fuel oil has been spilled early today and halted shipping traffic, the US Coast Guard said. The Neches River was closed near its mouth, where it empties into Sabine Lake, which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. The barge owned by Buffalo Marine Services was pulling alongside Torm Mary at Sun Anchorage on the Neches when it rammed into its hull, ripping a five-foot long gash in the tanker, Texas General Land Office spokesman Jim Suydam said. It was not yet known when the river would re-open to traffic, he said. “We’ll have a better idea when we get more of the oil cleaned up,” said US Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Adam. One inbound vessel carrying oil and five oil barges were among the vessels affected by the closure, according to Wine. Torm Mary was carrying Eurograde gasoline, although its destination was not immediately known. Emergency equipment was deployed and booms were laid out to prevent the spill from drifting, Suydam said. “We’ve got it contained and we are working to skim it off,” he added. Suydam said the barge owners would face a fine for the accident, although the amount would not be determined until the spill was cleaned up.

2 August 2004. The section of the Neches River from Buoy 42, just north of DuPont plant and the Naval Reserve Fleet, to the Veteran’s Bridge remains closed as oil spill clean up operations continue through the night. The spill occurred at approximately 0020 today when a barge (tank barge Buffalo 405) struck and pierced the starboard fuel tank of product tanker Torm Mary. Torm Mary was at the Sun Anchorage for a routine refuelling operation. Crews on scene transferred the oil in the fuel tank to an undamaged tank and deployed booms to contain the spill. By 0500 hrs responders had deployed more than 3,500 feet of boom to trap oil along the riverside. At 1800 hrs, more than 12,000 feet of boom had been deployed. Nine oil-skimmers and three vacuum trucks were also collecting oil. Precautionary booming is being deployed to environmentally sensitive areas such as Bessie Heights Marsh. There have been no reports of the oil affecting wildlife in the area. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident. The US Coast Guard has closed the Sabine Channel from Sun Anchorage down to the Fina Dock, due to an oil/gas spill from a vessel (product tanker Torm Mary) anchored in the lower Sun Anchorage. The current has spread the spilled product to below the Atofina Docks. There is currently no indication of how long the clean-up operation will take. News on the likely re-opening of the Sabine-Neches Waterway will be given as soon as possible. This will not, however, affect vessels transiting to/from Port Arthur including Premcor-Port Arthur.

3 August 2004. The Neches River in southeast Texas remained closed to shipping traffic today as efforts to clean up a 30,000 gallon oil spill continued, the US Coast Guard said. About 150 workers and nine skimmer boats were working to clean up the fuel oil that leaked out of the Danish-flagged product tanker Torm Mary at Sun Anchorage early yesterday after a refuelling tank barge Buffalo 405 owned by Buffalo Marine Services rammed it, ripping a five-foot gash in the ship. Ten ships and 20 barges were backed up awaiting the river’s reopening, according to Lt Ian Bird. “We do not have a definitive time” for the reopening, Bird said. A spokeswoman at ExxonMobil’s 360,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Beaumont, which lies upstream from the accident site, said operations at the refinery were not affected by the traffic halt.

4 August 2004. Beaumont’s ship channel remains closed for a third day today as cleanup continues on an fuel oil spill. That’s after tank barge Buffalo 405 punctured the starboard fuel tank of the product tanker Torm Mary during refuelling near Nederland Monday (August 2). That’s just downstream from Beaumont. No injuries were reported, but the Neches River’s closed to shipping from Sabine Lake to Beaumont. The river serves as Beaumont’s ship channel to the Gulf. The Coast Guard says more than 175 people are working to clean up about 30 thousand gallons of the gummy fuel oil spilled into the river. Crews have skimmed and siphoned almost 14 thousand gallons of oil and water from the river so far and moved it to a nearby Unocal tank farm. The Coast Guard estimates initial cleanup costs to be 700 thousand dollars. That will be fronted by the Federal Pollution Fund and repaid by those liable for the spill.

4 August 2004. Tank barge Buffalo 405 and product tanker Torm Mary: the clean-up of the recent oil spill in the Sabine-Neches Waterway is taking longer than expected and the Coast Guard is reported to have called in additional resources to assist in the operation. One vessel has been permitted to proceed to Fina, however the US Coast Guard (USCG) has advised that no more vessel traffic will be allowed until further notice. USCGCOTP Port Arthur was due to perform a “fly-over” of the affected area, and surrounding wetlands, at 0700, local time, today, to assess if the clean-up efforts will allow a full or partial reopening of the waterway.

4 August 2004. The Neches River was reopened to ship traffic today, more than two days after an oil spill shut the waterway that links the ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange to the Gulf of Mexico. A Danish ship (product tanker Torm Mary) spilled about 25,200 gallons of fuel oil into the river about 0100 Monday after a barge tank (barge Buffalo 405) punched a hole in the ship’s hull during refuelling near Nederland, between Beaumont and Port Arthur. Just before noon today, the blocked section of channel was reopened to one-way ship traffic, although vessels will be kept to slow speed to minimise the impact of continuing cleaning operations. “The opening of the Neches River to coordinated traffic is a major milestone in the cleanup and recovery process,” said Capt. Sharon Richey, commanding officer of Marine Safety Office Port Arthur and Captain of the Port. “We conducted an over-flight of the river and it showed us the bulk of the recoverable oil has been removed from the channel.” At midday today, seven outbound ships, six inbound ships and 70 barges were lined up, awaiting permission to pass. More than 29,600 gallons of an oil-water mixture was recovered by cleaning crews. The recovered oil is being taken to a nearby holding tank for recycling.

5 August 2004. Product tanker Torm Mary was anchored at Sun Anchorage in Port Neches, Texas, at 0020, August 2, when tank barge Buffalo 405 contacted as the barge came along the starboard stern to load bunkers. This resulted in a crack of 1.20 metres to 1.30 metres from engine-room into HFO Tk 2 starboard side, approximately 50cm on HFO Tk 2 starboard side and approximately 70cm on engine-room side. Height of crack from waterline is approximately 2.20 metres. Due to the crack in the HFO Tk 2, fuel oil bunkers has leaked into the water. Torm Mary was loaded with gasoline and MTBE, cargo tanks were not affected. Temporary repairs to Torm Mary have been awarded to Gulf Cooper.

5 August 2004. The Coast Guard established a safety zone today on the Neches River from just north of the DuPont plant to the Veteran’s bridge. No recreational boaters will be allowed into the safety zone until more of the oil has been removed. Both the Coast Guard and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be patrolling the area to ensure that recreational boaters observe the parameters set by the safety zone. Since the Neches River’s opening at approximately 1144 yesterday, a significant amount of ship and barge traffic has been allowed to move in and out of port. As of 1600 today, ship and barge traffic is largely back to normal with the exception of nine ships and barges that must be washed down before heading into uncontaminated water. Crews will work throughout the night to de-oil these vessels and prepare them to sail. Port Neches park boat ramp and waterfront will remain temporarily closed to continue launching resources aiding in the clean up effort. The park remains open, however people are urged to use caution when visiting the park, as there is still a lot of activity with response personnel and vehicles moving in and out of the area. As river clean up continues, the costs rise. The latest figures from the unified command put the cost at just over $2 million.

9 August 2004. Product tanker Torm Mary, which was involved in the oil spill, transited to the Gulf of Mexico without incident at 2325 yesterday and clean up along the Neches River continues. In the early hours August 2, Torm Mary was struck by tank barge Buffalo 405 during a routine refuelling operation, resulting in a rupture to the ship’s fuel tank. An estimated 25,200 gallons of heavy fuel oil was spilled. Coast Guard Captain Sharon Richey, Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Office in Port Arthur, said “The Coast Guard is making every effort to open the Neches River to all traffic this week, and to have the Port Neches Park re-opened as soon as safely possible.” The US Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and other state and local agencies have closely examined a 44-mile stretch of the Neches River from north of the Sun Anchorage to the entrance of Sabine Lake to determine environmental impact from the spill. Of that 44 miles, 28 miles were deemed affected by the oil. Approximately 13 miles had moderate oiling, nine miles had light oiling, and six miles had very light oiling. The Coast Guard has established a safety zone on the Neches River from just north of the DuPont plant to just south of Port Neches Park. Recreational boaters are not yet allowed into the safety zone until more of the oil has been removed. Both the Coast Guard and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be patrolling the area to ensure that recreational boaters stay out of the safety zone. The latest estimates from the unified command put the cleanup costs at approximately $4.5 million.

11 August 2004. The Neches River has been reopened to recreational boaters as of 0700 today. The Neches River had been partially closed and limited to restricted traffic since August 2 when product tanker Torm Mary was struck by tank barge Buffalo 405, causing a 25,200 gallon oil spill affecting 28 miles of the Neches River shoreline. The Neches River is now open to all traffic; however, boaters are asked to slow down and use caution when transiting the areas between Unocal and Motiva where cleanup efforts continue. Heavy wakes from passing boats can create unsafe conditions for cleanup crews. The Coast Guard will be patrolling the area to ensure that boaters operate their vessels at a slow, safe speed and stay away from cleanup crews and equipment. Port Neches Park remains temporarily closed while cleanup operations continue. Cleanup costs rise as river clean up continues, and the latest figures from the unified command put the cost at approximately $5.8 million.

5 August 2004Vista Mariner (Tuvalu)

A vessel (product tanker Vista Mariner, ex Nautica TG.Pelepas, 676 gt, built 1980) carrying 200 tonnes of oil waste which sank last week off Indonesia’s Riau islands has begun to spill its cargo, threatening fishing grounds, officials said today. The ship went down on July 25 as it tried to dock at a town in the Karimun region of the island chain close to Singapore, but the extent of the pollution was not known, said environment ministry spokesman Sudaryono. Indonesian Environment Minister Nabiel Makarim said he had deployed a team to the area to inspect the damage and was consulting with his Singaporean counterpart over compensation, according to the Detikcom online news service. Lieutenant Colonel Bambang Wahyudi, a navy commander in Karimun, said the ship had sunk with some of its oil containers open. “About two nautical miles off the shore, the sea was blackened by oil waste. Until now, fishermen there could not catch fish because of the oil spill,” Detikcom quoted him as saying.

14 August 2004Onondaga Lake, Syracuse, New York, USA

Honeywell International may have to pay as much as $2.3 billion over 17 years to clean up waste it dumped into Onondaga Lake over several decades. The state Department of Environmental Conservation says in a letter to be sent to Honeywell today that it will provide the company with a road map for cleaning the lake – including at least eight cleanup options. Honeywell merged with Allied Chemical in 1999, and became responsible for pollution from an Allied plant in Solvay that closed in 1986. The state claims the company dumped 165 thousand pounds of mercury into the lake between 1946 and 1970. Onondaga Lake is on the federal Superfund list of toxic waste sites, and fishing is banned due to the mercury contamination. Honeywell will submit their cleanup proposal to the state by Sept 1.

18 August 2004Tasman Spirit (Malta)

Crude oil tanker Tasman Spirit had run aground in Karachi harbour’s channel last year due to alleged corruption and negligence of top Karachi Port Trust officials, many of whom are non-technical people, according to a report prepared by the Pakistan Merchant Navy Officers Association. The report, which has been sent to Gen Pervez Musharraf, says that the channel has not been dredged honestly and does not have the declared depth and the huge oil tanker was also not called into the channel at the time of high tide. It says that the KPT had declared the depth of the channel as 12.2 metres, where as the channel is not actually that deep. Besides at peak high tide there is around 2.8 metres swell which should make the total depth in the channel at around 15 metres. The report says that if the channel was as deep as it had been declared, and if Tasman Spirit, which was carrying thousands of tons of oil and having a draught of 11.89 metres, had been called into the channel at the time of high tide, it could not have run aground. The report stated that the high tide, on July 27, 2003, started at 1033 hrs and the vessel should have been brought into the channel between 1100 hrs and 1130 hrs to take full advantage of the high tide at peak. But it was not done as a few other smaller vessels were accommodated before the oil tanker and by the time the vessel was called in the tide was beginning to recede. It says that it is imperative that depth of the entire channel should be 12.2 metres, as had been declared by the KPT, but the actual depth is around 9.5 metres at the extremities of the channel due to improper dredging. It says that the wind effect, heavy air draught due to large tanker super structure, ebbing tide, south westerly winds, heavy swell, long length and deep draught of the tanker, heavy torque on rudder while turning, squat factor, improper depth of channel owing to poor dredging, all contributed to push the vessel to lesser deep contour area towards the extremities of the channel and the vessel grounded at 1257 hrs between the pair number 6 and 7, approximately 50 metres from S7 and S6. The report says that no tug had accompanied the vessel when it entered the channel and the first tug, Sohrab, reached the grounded vessel at 1303 hrs in the pushing position on the starboard bow when the vessel had already grounded. The deputy conservator boarded the grounded vessel at around 1315 hrs and a couple of other tugs were also called in and they by applying the push and pull movement tried to bring the vessel to the centre of the channel. It was a wrong action and resulted in rupturing of fuel tanks No 1 and No 2 of the tanker. Oil started leaking from the tanker, which was not declared by the KPT. It says that Tasman Spirit, which was a 24-year-old single hull tanker, was not fitted with the emergency towing arrangements, required under the Safety of Life at Sea Regulation (15-1) saying that all tankers over 20,000 tons dead weight must be fitted with emergency towing arrangements. The report added that one of the main reasons of this catastrophe is the appointment of pseudo-professionals at the helm of KPT affairs and improper dredging of the channel which was not as deep as had been declared. The association chief Shaikh Mohammad Iqbal responding to the queries said that if the channel had been that deep as it had been declared and the vessel had been called in during the peak high tide the vessel would not have run aground. He said that even after grounding if the technical people were running the affairs at the top KPT, they would have handled the situation by shifting the oil to other tanks and should have waited for the next high tide, rather than using the push and pull method on a single hull old vessel that was loaded with heavy liquid cargo. He has urged the authorities to institute a high level probe into the dredging operation in the KPT channel. Another probe to find out why, or who for what reason, allowed the smaller ships’ entry to the port during high tide when the huge vessel was told to wait. And finally he demanded that technically qualified people be posted at the helm of affairs of the KPT. He further urged that the ownership of the vessel be ascertained.