Sical clarification on loss of Samudrika 10

Sical Logistics has announced that in the midst of the tragic loss of 8 of the crew members of Samudrika 10, along with the vessel, off the Mumbai Coast, on July 09, 2007, the Company has noted with concern, speculative and incorrect references to the Company and its operations of the Offshore Supply Vessels for ONGC, in various media reports.

The regulatory and statutory investigations are already under way. The Company is fully cooperating and assisting the organizations involved in this.

Family members and next of kin of the deceased were informed and necessary arrangements for the bodies to reach their families were made. Arrangements were also made for the families to reach Mumbai and perform the last rites. The family members of the deceased would receive compensation as per their insurance cover and this amount would be matched by the Company. The total expected flow of compensation will approximately be around Rs 6 lakhs per family. The Company has initiated necessary steps to ensure that due compensation reaches the affected crew members and their families at the earliest. The Company will offer employment opportunities to the next of kin of the deceased and will offer long term support to families who have lost their sole breadwinner. The Company's employees are also developing a corpus and will contribute a part of their salaries towards the welfare of the aggrieved families.

As the offshore logistics industry is not a sector about which most laymen or even writers in the media are likely to know in detail, the Company is concerned about the confusion, these speculative and incorrect references are causing among the public, especially the family members of the crew, who are aggrieved.

Also this could lead to confusion and fear among the large number of Indian crew men working in this industry and their families, in addition to the various stakeholders of Company.

To address and clarify the issues relating to the Company in the media reports, the Company give below its clarifications. The Company is open to sharing all relevant information not subject to the sensitivity of the investigations under way.

A. References to the credentials of the offshore logistics provider, Sical Logistics

The Company is a 53 year old company which has been a pioneer in the field of logistics in India. It provides integrated multimodal logistics solutions for bulk and containerized cargo and offshore logistics. As an Indian company listed on the NSE and the BSE, with large operations in the South as well as in other parts of the country, it is well known among industry players. It has been the preferred partner of a number of top corporate offering customized logistics solutions to match its customer's needs.

The Company has been operating OSVs for ONGC for over 15 years, since 1987, and has won the Operations and Maintenance contract consecutively for the 5th time, in June 2007. During this entire period, the Company had been operating the fleet of Samudrika vessels without any mishaps whatsoever, until the loss of the vessel Samudrika 10, on July 09, 2007. Its credentials to operate OSVs are well documented and unquestionable.

B. On references to the Document of Compliance and security clearances

- As mentioned above, the Company has been operating ONGC vessels for a long time. When the contract was renewed in June 2001, 15 vessels of Samudrika / Slndhu (out of which 7 were in Samudrika class) class were already being operated by the Company under the last contract.

- Sical Logistics had the valid Document of Compliance (DOC), which is the mother document authorizing operation of a particular class of vessels - i.e. the Samudrika series, when Samudrika 10 sailed out on July 06.

- The Company has 7 Samudrika class vessels already with it, 10 vessels were taken over in phases from SCI for the new contract.

- The Safety Management Certificates (SMC) for each of the 7 vessels, were already with Sical in place.

- The 10 vessels taken over from Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) as part of the new contract were in the process of getting the SMC. The Company had already applied for the same and the process was underway to get the same.

- Samudrika 10 was a part of the 10 vessels taken over from 501 on July 04.

- On July 06, when it sailed out to Bombay High, the application for SMC had already been filed for Samudrika 10.

- It was only post the mishap on July 09, the Indian Register of Shipping cancelled the Company's DOC vide a letter dated July 10, with retrospective effect as of July 04. The letter reached the Company's office on July 12.

- This retrospective declassification of the vessel and cancellation of DOC covering all Samudrika class vessels (7 prior ships for which valid SMC was with Sical, 9 for which SMC had been applied for and the one which sank on July 09), was beyond the scope of the regulatory framework, where the first recourse is a show cause notice and not declassification, that too with retrospective effect.

C. On the confusion and misconception regarding the number of crew on board

- Samudrika 10 had 17 crew on board the day it sailed out to sea (6th July)

- The manifest with ONGC lists only 14 of the crew who had been issued prior clearances by ONGC.

- Due to the inclement weather, the Master of the Vessel, Capt, Gurbachan Singh took the full complement of 17 crew members before leaving the Nhava Base.

- The two crewmen had ONGC passes - Mr. Shyam Ji "" Seaman, Mr. Shiv Mohan Tripathi "" Oiler issued by ONGC but which expired on June 30, 2007. These are issued by ONGC after police verification and security clearances, Mr. Shyam Ji "" Seaman, Mr. Shiv Mohan Tripathi "" Oiler had also sailed previously with ONGC. All speculation regarding the three men on board being mystery men is totally false and baseless.

D. On the Master of the Vessel being over age

- Crew over 65 years of age, can acquire permission from DG Shipping, after submitting the requisite fitness certificates.

- Captain Gurbachan Singh who lost his life in the mishap was 67 years old.

- He had a valid certificate to sail on these vessels. The application to accord approval to sail on the ship was also submitted prior to departure. This was submitted only due to him being over the age limit prescribed.