Ship collision: Ministry takes corrective steps

The Shipping Ministry has issued new directives to major post in the aftermath of the collision of two ships MSC Chitra and M.v. Khalijia3 last year on the approach Channel of Mumbai Port.

The collision between Khalijia and Chitra, on 7 August 2010, resulted in over 800 tonnes of oil leaking from the Chitra along with some of its cargo falling into the sea.

The Ministry of Shipping had constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Capt. PVK Mohan, Chairman NSB to propose corrective measures policy initiatives to avoid such incidents and general instructions. The Committee submitted its report recently.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, this Ministry has issued the following instructions to all Major Port Trusts for strict compliance:

a. A voluntary review of navigation safety in all ports should be undertaken by the Navigational Safety in Ports Committee(NSPC).

b. A review of contingency planning reflected in Crisis Management Plan of all ports should be undertaken in reference to lessons learnt in handling post collision issues.

c. All ports should install Tier 1 pollution control equipment immediately through their own resources or through cooperation with other agencies. d. Port entry regulations must be tightened for all ships entering the ports with special reference to insurance related documents, safety parameters and seaworthiness.

Besides, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust(JNPT) and the Mumbai Port Trust(MbPT) have been issued the following additional instructions for strict compliance:

a. The on-going proposal of JNPT and MbPT for widening of Channel and Pilot boarding area is to be expedited.

b. Additional navigational aids such as Fairway buoy, transit lights, navigational buoys (with racons) at every turn of the channel should be installed.

c. Manning, training and qualification of operators and supervisors of VTS should be as per the international norms.

d. VTS equipment should be upgraded to better technology which has features such as ?guard range? etc. so that audible and visual alarms could alert the VTS operator for impending collision.

e. A VTS authority under the MbPT should be formed which will provide pilot service for the entire length of approach channel i.e the MbPT and also the JNPT stretch, to ensure the seamless flow of information under one authority. It is recommended that a common pool of Pilots be formed to undertake Pilotage of the entire stretch of Channel from the approaches to JNPT/ MbPT as required.

f. The MOU between JNPT and MbPT is years old and it needs to be updated at the earliest to bring out all the key issues of cooperation between the two ports.