The Hindu : Karnataka News : Deadline for removal of carrier may be extended

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Deadline for removal of carrier may be extended

Special Correspondent

The 18,000-tonne vessel ran aground on June 6, 2000
It should have been removed before the onset of monsoon

PANAJI: The Goa Government may grant six more months, from September 15, for towing away of M.V. River Princess, the dilapidated ore carrier which is threatening to damage the north Goan coastal tourism.

The 18,000-tonne vessel that ran aground, some 150 metres off the Sinquerim beach along the North Goa coastline, on June 6, 2000, should have been towed away and re-floated by Gujarat-based Jaisu Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. before the onset of monsoon this year according to an agreement with the Goa Government.

Representation

However, following a representation by the company giving reasons for its inability to tow away the vessel, a high-level State Government committee headed by Chief Secretary J.P. Singh recently agreed to the demand.

“The company expects to tow away the vessel by this December, but has sought time till March 15, 2008 as an outer limit,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu on Monday.

The ship is expected to be re-floated and taken away to the ship breaking yard at Alang in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, around 600 nautical miles away from the Goa coast.

Governments in the past fought a protracted legal battle for the removal of the vessel from the Goa’s coast.

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