The Centre on Wednesday sought a report from the Cochin Shipyard limited (CSl) where a blast and fire had occurred on Tuesday on an under-repair ONGC drillship, Sagar Bhushan, in which five workers were killed and seven were injured, one of them seriously.
Union Minister of State for Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan visited the shipyard in Kochi on Wednesday morning and assessed the situation on board Sagar Bhushan, dry-docked for repairs at the shipyard since January 12. The Minister told newsmen that there was a blast on the ship but “there is no sign of any (big) fire inside” it.
The CSl informed that the Minister had instructed it to hold a thorough probe to ascertain the exact cause of the accident and report the details to the Central Ministry of Shipping. “We can find out the reason for the explosion only after the inquiry,” the Minister said, adding that the shipyard had already initiated a high-level internal inquiry into the accident.
Investigations at three different levels are on into the blast and fire on the ONGC drill ship which had reached the shipyard for repairs on December 7 and was scheduled to leave it after completion of work on April 7.
The inquiries are being held by the Directorate General of Shipping, Factories and Boilers Department and the police.
Ajithkumar Sukumaran, principal officer with the Mercantile Marine Department under the Directorate General of Sipping, told the media that the probe would cover all relevant aspects including the lapses that might have occurred in carrying out mandatory safety and security inspections before starting the repair work.