KARACHI, July 29: A lighterage ship Endeavour-II is arriving at the port on July 31 to assist the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) in refloating and salvaging the grounded ship MT Tasman Spirit, carrying 62,000 tons of crude oil, that ran aground on Monday.

According to a KPT press release, Endeavour had left the Al- Fujerah Port on July 29. However the exact time of arrival depends upon the weather and sea situation.

The capacity of upcoming tanker could not be known but an official in the Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) said the oil tanker has the capacity of 70,000 tons.

It is not clear how much time would be required in pumping the crude from the Tasman Spirit to Endeavour. The PRL official said oil tankers normally have the capability to pump 3,000 tons per hour oil and probably the tanker, arriving from United Arab Emirates (UAE), will have the same capacity.

The cost of the 62,000 tons of crude oil is estimated at $10 million and the cargo belongs to the PRL which imports less than one million tons of crude oil annually, he added. On Wednesday, a senior official of the KPT said that the crude would be carried to a berth at the port to load in a new chartered tanker.

Officials are silent over the leakage of crude oil which began when the oil tanker slipped from the channel on Monday due to highwinds and turbulent sea, thus threatening marine life. The actual quantity loss of crude would be ascertained in a day or two. However, all cargoes are usually fully ensured.