Experts examine damaged vessel on Hooghly river

KOLKATA - Experts from a private agency in Mumbai Wednesday examined the container ship stranded in the Hooghly river after it collided with another container vessel in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district a day earlier.

The Gibraltar-registered vessel - Tiger Spring - was severely damaged after it collided with a Bahama-registered container ship Green Valley at the confluence of Hooghly and Rupnarayan rivers at Nurpur Tuesday.

“A two-member expert team from Mumbai is now examining Tiger Spring. They will examine the extent of damage and how the ship can be repaired. An expert team from Germany has also been summoned,” Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) chairman Madan Lal Meena told IANS.

“After examining the vessel, the expert teams will hold a meeting with KoPT officials and decisions on the repairing process and removal plans of the ship will be taken by evening or Thursday,” KoPT marine department director Arun Kumar Bagchi said.

Green Valley, which was also damaged but not as badly as the Tiger Spring, was being repaired at the Diamond Harbour dock and would return to Kolkata by Thursday or Friday.

The Tiger Spring had started sinking soon after the collision, but it was stabilised within hours.

The Colombo-bound Tiger Spring - after unloading its containers at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) of KoPT was going back through Rangaphala channel, while Green Valley - coming from Singapore to KDS - hit it in the middle at Nurpur Tuesday.

The accident occurred as the pilot of Green Valley, which was at the Sandheads in Bay of Bengal, saw Tiger Spring in a horizontal position while manoeuvering and thought that Tiger Spring would be able to change its position before his ship came near it.

However, contrary to the pilot’s anticipation, his vessel hit straight in the middle of Tiger Spring, a top KoPT official said.