KARACHI, Aug 13: As the putrid smell of crude oil engulfs the part of Clifton beach where the Tasman Spirit stands aground, it is becoming clear that the vessel might break up. If it does break up, right at the entrance to the harbour, we will have a national calamity on our hands.
The tanker Tasman Spirit — under charter of the PNSC and carrying 67,000 tons of crude oil — ran aground in the harbour channel on Sunday, July 27, at about 1pm with a KPT pilot on board. The vessel with a length of 235metres has a draft of 11.9metres.
A typical monsoon weather prevailed at the time of the vessel’s entry, with wind force measuring between 40 and 45kilometres per hour and the sea swell of up to 4metres high. High water was at 10.33am with a height of 2.8metres and low water at 4.14pm with a height of 1.5metres. The vessel grounded while rounding the breakwater, halfway in the channel bend, between buoy nos 5-S and 6-S at the entrance.
It is two weeks since the grounding of the tanker but the information regarding the circumstances leading up to the grounding is very sketchy, thanks to the KPT management who like to play it close to the chest. The less people know, the better.
In the meantime, hundreds of tons of oil have been spilled and have made their way onto the clean beaches of Clifton. The total damage to marine life and the environment cannot be easily ascertained but would probably be near disaster proportions. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency should immediately start assessing the impact on the environment, as Pakistan is a signatory to the International Conventions ‘MARPOL’ on oil spills and pollutions.
From reports it is gathered that it was a normal manoeuvre on a normal day. A KPT’s licensed pilot was in charge on board. The ship’s engine was running normally and deep drafted vessels were entering and leaving the harbour routinely. No shallow patches were reported in the main channel prior to the tanker’s entry. Therefore, apparently there was no reason for the grounding.
Deep draft vessels, such as the Tasman Spirit, enter the channel on top of high water or within an hour of it to get the maximum advantage of the height of tide. The datum, that is the minimum depth available at any time of day or night, in this section of the channel was 12.2metres. The height of high water was 2.8metres. This gave a total of 15metres depth of water, ample for safe navigation of the tanker.
However, the tanker entered the channel about two-and-a-half hours late, that is in the middle of ebb tide, thereby losing 0.7metres in depth and encountering strong effect of the ebb tide. Even with the loss of 0.7metres due to late entry, the tanker had sufficient water under the keel to negotiate the high swell provided the vessel was kept in the centre of the channel.
Most importantly, the vessel’s speed while rounding the bend must have been insufficient to turn the vessel into the main channel and with the flow of the ebb, strong wind and high swell the vessel was pushed out towards the edge of the channel where it got grounded. There is no doubt that there was shallow water at the place where the tanker grounded.
What is obvious as per technical proof that the place where the vessel grounded is part of the main channel and it has insufficient depth. The soundings shown on the chart appear to be erroneous and outdated because if the soundings were correct then the channel buoys were out of position, that is they had drifted outside the channel and were not checked.
It must be noted that the pilot should have navigated the vessel with extreme caution and with accuracy of time, that is, on top of or within an hour of high water. He should have had sufficient speed to manoeuvre the vessel through the channel bend, steering the vessel in the centre of the channel. When all elements are in place for safe passage of the channel, grounding of the vessel is not acceptable.
The management of the operations department, particularly the role of the Harbour Master cannot be over-emphasised. He is the officer directly entrusted with the responsibilities of managing the day-to-day vessel traffic in the port. He is required to keep the navigable channel safe for all shipping at all times and to oversee and monitor all shipping movements in the port, that is, entry and exit of every vessel. Had there been proper supervision by the operations department, this accident could have been averted.
Dredging and survey section appear to have been lagging as well. Correct soundings were either not properly projected and/or required dredging was not carried out to clear the shallow patches if they existed.
An attempt was made at the next high water to refloat the stricken vessel with a tug but without success. It appears to have been a feeble attempt at best. Thereafter there was no attempt to refloat her although the tide remained favourable and kept rising for one full week. It was the best opportunity to make not one but several attempts during the week.
There were at least four strong tugs available at the port, which could have done the job. In fact two of KPT’S strongest tugs with over 40 tons bollard pull each would have been sufficient to achieve positive results, had attempts been made.
With matters being delayed, the likelihood of the tanker breaking up due to high swell appears unavoidable and the vessel continues to leak heavily. Preventive measures such as oil boom and dispersants have not been very effective due to strong winds and high swell. The Vessel’s forward tanks have been ruptured which has resulted in oil leakage and there is ingress of water. This has resulted in the vessel now being well and truly grounded with her draft having increased from 12metres originally to more than 18metres.
A small tanker has been engaged to empty the stricken tanker. But at the speed with which it is being emptied, it would take about a week to fully pump out oil from the grounded tanker, after which it remains to be seen what further action is taken by the salvagers. It is fortunate that the inward and outward traffic in the port is not hampered and is moving smoothly.
Internationally, ships causing oil spill must bear all cost connected with the oil spill. A case in point is the tanker Exxon Valdez which ran aground in Alaskan waters and spilled thousands of tons of oil causing serious pollution (the Master was blamed for the grounding).
The vessel was held responsible for the pollution and the owners had to pay the full costs amounting to billions of dollars. In this case also the ship is to be held responsible and owners made to pay before it is allowed to leave the port. As mentioned before, Pakistan is a signatory to the IMO convention concerning oil pollution. Worldwide pollution at sea, or in port, is a very serious matter and is not taken lightly.
The writer is a Master Mariner and has served as Pilot, Harbour Master and DC.
