Two foreign cargo ships collided with each other in the shipping lanes of the Gulf of Kutch off the coast of Gujarat on Friday, November 26. The incident occurred between the coast of Okha in Devbhumi Dwarka and Mandvi in Kutch, officials said.
Officials have stated that no casualties have been reported till now in the incident. The two cargo ships involved in the accident were MV Atlantic Grace — a 50,000-DWT oil/chemical tanker sailing under the flag of Hong Kong — and a 19,000-DWT bulk carrier MV Aviator sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.
According to the government officials, the MV Atlantic Grace was to Fujairah in the UAE from Kandla, while the MV Aviator was headed to the Kandla port. No oil spills or casualties have been reported from either of the foreign ships, as per the statement.
A collision took place between MVs Aviator & Atlantic Grace in Gulf of Kutch on Nov 26 night. No casualties, oil slick reported. Indian Coast Guard ships in area including pollution control vessel on stand-by in the vicinity & monitoring the situation: PRO Defence, Gujarat pic.twitter.com/S9wgsYaHrQ
— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2021
Government officials said, “Until now, there has been no report of any casualties in the accident. No oil slick has been reported so far. But the tanker has breached the hull of the bulk carrier. Luckily, this breach is above the water level.”
The situation of the collision is being closely monitored by the Indian Coast Guard through several ships, including a pollution control vessel. Authorities were on standby long after the collision to make sure that both the ships have not incurred any major damage.
“We will need tugs to conduct the salvage operations. This is a delicate operation conducted mid-sea where we have to ensure there is no further damage to the hull or the vessel does not tilt,” government officials added. A team of salvage experts reached the site on Saturday.
The collision between the two ships most likely occurred due to human error, though the exact cause for the same is not known yet. An accident between the two ships could have also caused severe damage to the unique Marine National Park in Jamnagar.
