The high-level Committee set up by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to probe the mishap involving ONGC vessels during Cyclone Tauktae in which 86 people died, has sought more time to finalise its report.

On May 19, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas set up a high-level committee to enquire into the sequence of events leading to the stranding of ONGC vessels in the cyclone Tauktae. The stranding, drifting and subsequent events led to loss of lives.

The Committee

The committee comprises Amitabh Kumar, Director-General of Shipping, SCL Das, Director General of Hydrocarbons, and Nazli Jafri Shayin, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence. It was tasked to submit its report within one month.

“We have written to the government we need more time because the casualty investigation is still not complete,” said Amitabh Kumar, director general of shipping. “Till it is completed, we will not be in a position to give a final report,” he said.

The panel was tasked to inquire into the sequence of events leading to the stranding and drifting of the vessels and subsequent events, whether the warnings issued by Meteorological Department and other statutory authorities were adequately considered and acted upon and whether the Standard Operating Procedures for securing the vessels and dealing with disaster management were adequately followed.

It was also asked to look into lapses and gaps in the systems leading to the stranding and drifting of the vessels and recommend steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

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