Container ship that ran aground re-ﬂ oated at Kolkata port

ABHISHEK LAW/P MANOJ Kolkata/Mumbai, May 16 Container ship ‘Kota Rajin’, which ran aground at the Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, Kolkata (former Kolkata Port Trust), was re-oated on Sunday. The vessel had run aground on Friday on its way to Kolkata from Singapore. According to Vinit Kumar, Chairman, Syama Prasad Mookherjee Port, there has been “no major impact” on trade and secondary channels were opened to allow other vessels to come in during the period when re-oating operations were on. Shoaling in channel “The forward part of the vessel, Kota Rajin, had run into the shore and had embed- ded there. It was re-oated on Sunday afternoon,” he said. The container ship, with a capacity of 600 TEUs (twenty equivalent units) had run aground at the Falta stretch — a channel maintained by the port — a few kilometers oﬀ Kolkata. Of the 511 TEUs the ship was carrying, 162 TEUs were for Haldia Dock and the remaining 348 TEUs for Kolkata. The Falta channel has been facing shoaling — wave shoaling is the eﬀect by which surface waves enter- ing shallower water change in wave height — thereby leading to diculties in nav- igability and lower draft. According to port ocials, the shoaling caused the container ship to change course and it ran aground. It was stuck to the shore. “Navigating riverine ports require expertise and there has been shoaling too. This led to the incident, “ a senior ocial involved in the re- oating operations said, re- questing anonymity. Port ocials used excavat- ors (JCBs) to loosen the sand thereby enabling release of the forward part (called bul- bus bow in shipping par- lance) of the ship. “Two tugs (tug boats) from Kolkata Dock and three from Haldia Dock were used to re- oat Kota Rajin,” the ocial involved in the operations said. The “unexpected” shoaling in the Falta stretch has raised concern among the port authorities and the shipping industry. Rare occurence The depth at Kolkata Dock System (KDS) is typically lower during the winter sea- son and the lean draft season extends from late November to February every year. “But this year, there was a rare occurrence of sudden shoaling at Falta stretch of the shipping channel,” Chairman Vinit Kumar told stake holders in an April 16 letter. “This was an abrupt phe- nomenon and could not be predicted. As a result, draft cuts of 0.2-0.3 m had to be made and the lean draft sea- son extended beyond Febru- ary to March,” Kumar said. To overcome this, the port deployed additional dredgers and a secondary channel was opened-up for shipping. The draft reduc- tions have since been with- drawn. Grounding had ‘no major impact’ on trade; secondary channels opened up Container vessel Kota Rajin aground Container ship that ran aground re-oated at Kolkata port

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Transcript of Container ship that ran aground re-ﬂ oated at Kolkata port

Page 1: Container ship that ran aground re-ﬂ oated at Kolkata port

ABHISHEK LAW/P MANOJ Kolkata/Mumbai, May 16

Container ship ‘Kota Rajin’,which ran aground at theSyama Prasad MookherjeePort, Kolkata (former KolkataPort Trust), was re-fl��oated onSunday.

The vessel had runaground on Friday on its wayto Kolkata from Singapore.

According to Vinit Kumar,Chairman, Syama PrasadMookherjee Port, there hasbeen “no major impact” ontrade and secondary chan-nels were opened to allowother vessels to come in dur-ing the period when re-fl��oat-ing operations were on.

Shoaling in channel “The forward part of the ves-sel, Kota Rajin, had run intothe shore and had embed-ded there. It was re-fl��oated

on Sunday afternoon,” hesaid.

The container ship, with acapacity of 600 TEUs (twentyequivalent units) had runaground at the Falta stretch— a channel maintained bythe port — a few kilometersoff�� Kolkata. Of the 511 TEUsthe ship was carrying, 162TEUs were for Haldia Dockand the remaining 348 TEUsfor Kolkata.

The Falta channel has beenfacing shoaling — wave

shoaling is the eff��ect bywhich surface waves enter-ing shallower water changein wave height — therebyleading to diffi��culties in nav-igability and lower draft.

According to port offi��cials,the shoaling caused the con-tainer ship to change courseand it ran aground. It wasstuck to the shore.

“Navigating riverine portsrequire expertise and therehas been shoaling too. Thisled to the incident, “ a senior

offi��cial involved in the re-fl��oating operations said, re-questing anonymity.

Port offi��cials used excavat-ors (JCBs) to loosen the sandthereby enabling release ofthe forward part (called bul-bus bow in shipping par-lance) of the ship.

“Two tugs (tug boats) fromKolkata Dock and three fromHaldia Dock were used to re-fl��oat Kota Rajin,” the offi��cialinvolved in the operationssaid. The “unexpected” shoal-

ing in the Falta stretch hasraised concern among theport authorities and theshipping industry.

Rare occurenceThe depth at Kolkata DockSystem (KDS) is typicallylower during the winter sea-son and the lean draft seasonextends from late Novemberto February every year.

“But this year, there was arare occurrence of suddenshoaling at Falta stretch ofthe shipping channel,”Chairman Vinit Kumar toldstake holders in an April 16letter.

“This was an abrupt phe-nomenon and could not bepredicted. As a result, draftcuts of 0.2-0.3 m had to bemade and the lean draft sea-son extended beyond Febru-ary to March,” Kumar said.

To overcome this, the portdeployed additionaldredgers and a secondarychannel was opened-up forshipping. The draft reduc-tions have since been with-drawn.

Grounding had ‘nomajor impact’ ontrade; secondarychannels opened up

Container vessel Kota Rajin aground

Container ship that ran aground re-fl��oated at Kolkata port