Traffic suspended at Mumbai harbour after ships collide

Traffic at the harbour here was partially suspended today as a precaution following the fall of 10 to 15 oil containers from the MSC Chitra, an outbound merchant vessel from Navi Mumbai, after a collision with another vessel, the MV Khalijia-III, yesterday, five nautical miles from shore.

Ships of small draft were allowed, as six Coast Guard vessels and a helicopter with anti-pollution dispersal spray systems were pressed into service to contain an oil spill. About 15 tonnes of oil spill is estimated.

Rahul Asthana, chairman of Mumbai Port, told Business Standard: “It is expected that normalcy will be restored soon.” He said there wasn’t much oil spill and no casualties, as 33 crew members were rescued. Currently, MSC Chitra has been surrounded by several boats.

According to Coast Guard sources, the vessel is tilting at more than 70 degrees and is highly likely to capsize. MSC Chitra had 2,662 tonnes of fuel, 283 tonnes of diesel and 88 tonnes of lube oil.

"The ships coming towards Mumbai Port might hit containers in the water and may cause problem for the inbound ships, because of which we suspended the traffic," Coast Guard sources said.

A preliminary probe indicates navigational error by captains of the two ships could have led to the collision. Chitra, heading towards Mundra in Gujarat, was loaded with dry cargo containers and Khalijia had 30,000 tonnes of steel coil. Khalijia had reported on-board flooding off the city harbour on July 19 after developing cracks and had been stationed here since for repair.

The Directorate General of Shipping would be enquiring into the collision.