The Hindu Business Line : `Blue Lady' may reach Alang next week

After getting the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee's nod, the controversial Norwegian cruise liner, SS Norway, nicknamed `Blue Lady', is likely to reach the Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat sometime next week.

Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) sources told Business Line that the authorities were currently completing formalities at Pipavav Port where the ship was anchoring since July 30. Since the draft at Alang was only around 12 metres, the big vessel is likely to start moving towards the ship-breaking yard around August 9 when the next tide in the Arabian Sea makes its final journey less expensive and smoother. High tides would reduce the cost of pulling the ship to Alang. Following reports that the ship is laced with more than 1,200 tonnes of "lethal" asbestos, NGOs and environmentalists had moved the Supreme Court in a bid to stall the vessel's entry into Indian territorial waters. The apex court, which gave a conditional permission to the vessel on June 5, had also appointed a 16-member expert committee headed by the Union Forest and Environment Secretary, Mr Pradipto Ghosh, to examine the issue. The committee examined the 40-page environmental inspection report submitted by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board on July 14 and gave the go-ahead to the ship to beach at Alang.

More Stories on : Shipping | Environment | Gujarat

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