Coast Guard vessel sinks after collision with ship (Second Lead)
By IANSTuesday, March 23, 2010
MUMBAI - A Coast Guard ship sank after a privately-owned merchant vessel rammed into it in the Mumbai Harbour Tuesday evening, an official said. No casualties were reported.
The collision took place at the commercial Indira Dockyard in Mumbai and over 40 sailors and technicians on the ship, identified as Indian Coast Guard Ship Vivek, were rescued, the official said.
The defence ministry, the Mumbai Port authorities and the Directorate General of Shipping have ordered separate inquiries into the accident.
The accident took place around 6.30 p.m. when ICGS Vivek was undergoing repairs and refit at Berth No. 10 of Indira Docks.
The private merchant vessel MV Global Purity rammed into Vivek, creating a deep hole in the Coast Guard ship. It sank within an hour, the official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The offshore patrol vessel had the capacity to carry helicopters and was used for search rescue and relief operations, the official said.
Though the cause of the collision was not clear, it is believed that the private ship rammed into Vivek when the Coast Guard ship’s berth door was suddenly opened up.
Top Coast Guard, defence and port authorities have rushed to the site for preliminary investigations into the incident.
ICGS Vivek was a 20 year-old platform inducted into the Coast Guard on August 19, 1989. It was anchored when the private Panama ship crashed into it.
