Unmanned merchant tanker runs aground off Manori in north Mumbai; ICG diverts ships to site

Mumbai, Jul 6 (PTI) An unmanned merchant tanker has run aground off Manori in north Mumbai, prompting the Indian Coast Guard to divert its ships to the area for assessing the situation and necessary assistance, officials said. The ship is a kilometre off the coast, a Mumbai police official said. In a statement, the Coast Guard said it received a message from the Directorate General of Shipping on July 5 regarding the dragging of vessels MT Asphalt Star, MT Stellar Ruby, and MT Al Jafzia due to inclement weather conditions. ICGS Samrat diverted to the area to assess the situation and provide necessary assistance to the vessels. DG Shipping was simultaneously requested to deploy ETV Water Lily for assistance, it said. Presently, MT Asphalt Star and MT Stellar Ruby are anchored and the crews of both ships are safe. However, MT Stellar Ruby, anchored off Madh, is slowly drifting due to rough weather, an official said. "MT Al Jafzia, which was unmanned on anchorage has presumably run aground off Manori," the Coast Guard said in the statement. ICGS Samudra Prahari and Emergency Towing Vessel Water Lilly are maintaining position in the area to render assistance, it added. According to the Marine Traffic website, the Al Jafzia ship is an oil/chemical tanker and was docked at the Mumbai port two months ago. It is 182.75 meters long and 32.26 meters wide. It is operating under the flag of Nicaragua, said MarineTraffic, which is a maritime analytics provider that offers real-time information on ship movements and the current location of ships in harbours and ports. A senior Coast Guard official said its personnel apprehended the three ships in February this year for illegal bunkering. The ships were brought to Mumbai and a case was registered with the Yellow Gate police station. The official said the owners of the vessels had also approached Bombay High Court, which directed that the vessels be taken to Alang for scrapping. Earlier in the day, a Gorai police station official said information about the stranded ship was received in the morning and, as per protocol, the Navy, ICG and other concerned maritime authorities were intimated about the situation, a Gorai police station official said. "The ship is stalled about 1 kilometre from Manori beach. The ship has dropped anchor and no untoward incident related to it has been reported," he had said. Local fishermen said the area is rocky and strong winds have made it unsafe for smaller vessels to venture near the ship. Mumbai and its adjoining areas have been witnessing very heavy rains for the past few days, throwing normal life out of gear. PTI ZA PR BNM