Fire Mishap At Nhava Sheva Port Averted

A major disaster was averted when fire broke out at two multipurpose berths of Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru) port in the early hours of May 17.

The fire, which was the result of a short-circuit, could be brought under control within two hours only because of a heavy downpour in the area on the day which prevented the fire from spreading to the adjoining areas, according to delayed reports reaching here. A ship, H K Hunder, carrying 40,000 tonnes of kerosene was also in the port area at the time of fire.

Experts say that but for the rain, the loss could be have been colossal running into thousands of crores of rupees. Incidentally, the famous Elephanta Caves are in close proximity to the port.

 

Earlier, a major fire had broken out at the port on December 29, 1996, which could be brought under control after a 12-hour effort by 20 fire tenders. The fire had originated from the conveyor handling imported sulphur.

Meanwhile, the port authorities are learnt to have sought surface transport ministry's permission for the same berths to handle highly inflammable and hazardous `Class A' liquid chemicals. This multipurpose jetty was originally set up to handle solid bulk cargo and cars, but later converted by the port authorities to handle `B' and `C' class products.

This move by the port authorities to to handle `Class A' liquid chemicals at the multipurpose jetty has been strongly opposed by various NGOs like Socleen and Environsafe. Even the Maharashtra government is learnt to have raised strong objections to the proposal.