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Sinking of a Bulk carrier about 20 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast.
Applicable to:
All Indian seafarers, ship owners, and companies
Effective Date:
2012-12-06
Superseded Circulars:
None
Key Changes and Requirements
1. Incident Summary — Sinking of a bulk carrier
A 1984-built bulk carrier carrying coal sank about 20 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast on 04/08/2011. The vessel had about 290 MT of heavy oil and 50 MT of diesel oil on board. All 30 crew members were rescued.
2. Actions and Recommendations — Lessons learnt
- Regular monitoring: All tanks, bilges, and cofferdams should be monitored regularly.
- Ballasting operations: Proper monitoring of ballasting and de-ballasting operations should be carried out.
- Stability verification: Vessel's stability should be verified for all stages of voyages, and 'head trim' during the voyage should be avoided.
- Master's authority: Master should not hesitate to exercise his overriding authority for safety and environmental pollution and seek assistance from Maritime Assistance Services (MAS) of the coastal state.
- Maintenance: Required maintenance of ship machinery should be routinely undertaken to ensure proper functioning during the voyage.
- Sealing openings: Ship's crew must ensure that all openings of oil tanks are effectively sealed prior to abandoning the vessel.
II/4 Maritime Safety Investigation Report
Important Note
Timely information to coastal authorities could have prevented the sinking. Always inform coastal authorities about difficulties encountered by an unseaworthy vessel.
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