Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, Sept. 02: Have we learn any lesson from the Tourists Boat Tragedy of 26 January 2014? Is safety of passengers is our top priority or our priority is to put a brave face in front of senior officers by compromising the safety of passengers?
On 5th April 2014 MV Hut Bay was sent to Campbell Bay with election materials and crew members were told by authorities that the vessel is going for just 15 days to Campbell Bay to deliver election materials and would return back soon. When crew members pointed out serious defects in the vessels the authorities reportedly assured them repair those defects once the vessels comes back after 15 days.
According to reports on 4th April the vessel was given clearance for fitness and as per rule whenever a vessel is given clean chit for fitness, first a sea trial is carried out but in case of M V Hut Bay, no sea trial was carried out before sailing to such a difficult area. On 4th the clearance was given and on 5th the vessel was made to sail for Campbell Bay.
It has been learnt that the ropes provided for M.V Hut Bay are very thin, A/Cs are not working and the Monkey deck of the ship is full of rust.
In any vessel, a good Anchor is a mandatory requirement but in MV Hut Bay both the anchors were defective since a long time.
Adding to this, the crucial Hand Pump, which is used to pump out water in case water fills the front portion of the vessel was also not working since a long time.
This is worth mentioning here that the vessel was also full of rats and cockroaches and due to lack of fumigation treatment the vessel was dirty and unfit for passengers.
Still the sick vessel, with multiple defects, was sent to Campbell Bay and was stationed at Campbell Bay for five long months and during that time, the vessel was made to sail twice a week in Campbell Bay region with passengers, which was a great risk.
On 24th July the vessel sailed for the last time in Campbell Bay Sector and since that day the vessels is stranded at Jetty and has not been called back for repair.
One can understand about the seriousness of Shipping Services towards safety of public by the fact that when Lt. Governor had ordered safety audit of all vessels after 26 Jan 2014 Tourist Boat Tragedy the Shipping Department pressed MV Lawrence, which had a defective plate, for trip between Aberdeen and Ross. Later when Andaman Sheekha reported about this matter the vessel MV Lawrence was withdrawn.
However, yesterday when Andaman Sheekha asked the Director Shipping Services, Capt Rajendra Kumar about the vessel he said that efforts are on to bring MV Hut Bay back to Port Blair.
“We are now planning to a team of Surveyors to Campbell Bay on 5th September 2014 by helicopter so that the clearance is given by him after inspection. If tickets are available the surveyors will be able to go on 5th September,” Capt. Kumar added.
Why the sick vessel was sent to Campbell Bay is still not known. Crew members had sent two letters from Campbell Bay about the defects and the evidences are available with Andaman Sheekha.
It has been learnt that during a meeting at Raj Niwas today, infront of Lt. Governor, efforts were made from the side of Department of Shipping to prove that Andaman Sheekha report was wrong. Efforts were also made to point out as if Andaman Sheekha has reported that the vessel was “stranded” for five months when Andaman Sheekha reported that the vessel was “stationed” at Campbell Bay. Andaman Sheekha stand firm with the report.
