On 09.09.09, just four years ago, was a bad day at Paradip as the iron ore-loaded Mongolian flag ship Black Rose sank in the Bay of Bengal off the coast here killing its Ukrainian chief engineer and injuring some other crew.
All crew members except the chief engineer were rescued by the tugs of the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) during night hours. The wet iron ore loaded during heavy rain, listing of the ship and bad weather were attributed as the causes of the capsizing of the vessel.
Sadly, the upper portion of the haul of the ship which was visible with naked eyes from the sea beach of the Paradip light House a few months back has been cut and stolen by scrap mafia in spite of regular patrolling in the sea by the Indian Coast Guard and PPT patrolling boats.
Despite a report in The Pioneer about the disappearance of the major chunk of the ship’s haul earlier, no action was initiated against the scrap mafia, as a result of which the visible portion of the ship has disappeared by now. The beach is no more thronged by visitors for a curious look at the Black Rose.
It is apprehended the sunken ship may cause serious accidents in future for the passing ships, trawlers and other floating crafts. Interestingly, in spite of investigation of the incident by various Government agencies such as Mercantile Marine Department of the Union Government, the National Shipping Board, the Odisha Crime Branch and the Jagatsinghpur district administration, no conclusive report came to the public domain and the matter has been suppressed by burying the reports like the ship’s fate.
Nobody was held responsible or accountable for the incident. The Singapore-based owners and operators of the vessel went underground after the incident. The local shipping agent operated its business under a different name. The PPT had to cough up Rs 20 crore to remove the fuel oil in the ship which was creating pollution hazard in the coast.
The ship owners were reportedly operating the ship with forged certificates which escaped the eyes of the international and port community. Allegation was also made that the underworld elements had also stake in running this vessel.
The sinking of Black Rose will remain as a bad scar in the maritime history of the world and it has taught many lessons to the various establishments. Of late, the PPT is not permitting loading of iron ore even during slight rain. Stringent check of moisture is being carried out by ships’ P and I clubs by appointing their surveyors. Ships’ captains are also refusing to load wet cargo as nobody wants another Black Rose tragedy.