KARACHI, Aug 18: The Oil Tanker 'M V Tasman Spirit' had run aground in Karachi harbour's channel last year due to 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 the M. V. 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 that day (July 27, 2003), started at 10.33 in the morning and the huge vessel should have been brought into the channel between 11 am and 11.30 am to take full advantage of the high tide at peak.
But it was not done as a few other smaller ships were accommodated before the oil tanker and by the time M. V. Tasman Spirit 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 hours 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 ship at 13.03 hours in the pushing position on the starboard bow when the vessel had already grounded.
The deputy conservator boarded the grounded ship at around 1315 hours 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 M. V. 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 Dawn queries said that if the channel had been that deep as it had been declared and the ship 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 ship 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.
It may be recalled that nearly a year back M. V. Tasman Spirit carrying around 70,000 tons of crude oil from a Gulf port for local refinery ran aground. Its tanks ruptured leading to leakage of over 40,000 tons of crude oil into the sea seriously contaminating the marine environment causing colossal loss to marine life and the national economy.
