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Our Bureau

Kolkata, June 23 A Bangladeshi barge, MV Milon, carrying 695 tonnes of steel reinforcements, sank in the Hooghly river on Monday. Tata Steel was the exporter of the consignment, which was due for unloading at Narayanganj in Bangladesh. All six crew on board are safe.

This is the second such boat disaster in less than three weeks. On June 5 last, another Bangladeshi barge carrying fly ash for Bangladesh had met with the same fate.

The cause of Monday’s accident, according to Kolkata Port Trust sources, is the problem in the vessel’s steering wheel. However, a spokesman for Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), responsible for granting permission to Bangladesh barges for operation in Indian waters, explained that the vessel started drifting after its anchor chain snapped, became tilted and water started to gush into the hold before it finally sank. “IWAI grants permission to Bangladeshi barges on the basis of valid voyage certificates issued by the appropriate authorities in Bangladesh,” he said.

On an average, 1.20 lakh tonnes of cargoes are sent by barges from Kolkata to Bangladesh every month and fly ash accounts for bulk of the shipments, an estimated 75 to 80 per cent. Among other items are steel cargoes and slags.

The entire trade, governed by the India-Bangladesh Protocol on Trade and Transit, is handled by Bangladeshi vessels and a large number of them ply regularly between Kolkata Dock System and various river ports in Bangladesh, catering to the trade.

The sinking of “MV Milon” is causing concern to the authorities of Kolkata Port Trust as the vessel is blocking a channel which is due to become navigable from August/September. The port authorities sincerely hope that IWAI will ensure that the channel will be cleared before that.

The authorities wonder if the Bangladesh vessels that are plying in the Hooghly river are really worthy of the voyages they undertake. Many of them, it is pointed out, are actually dumb barges converted into self-propelled types. There may be something wrong in the way the certificates are issued to these vessels in that country, it is felt.

More Stories on : Accidents | Shipping | Tata Steel Ltd | Steel

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Bangla barge with Tata Steel consignment sinks

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