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Grounded cargo ship worries Goa's tourism industry

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

A cargo ship, grounded off the Goan coast since more than a month, has become a matter of worry for the hotel industry in Goa.

"The ecology of the region rests on a virtual time bomb that is ticking," say the hoteliers running five-star hotels along the Sinquerim-Baga coast, fearing oil spillage which could damage the coastline and affect marine life adversely.

The Coast Guard, which normally rushes to arrest any kind of environmental damage in such circumstances, however appears to be cool. It says that the out-of-use ship contains 'marginal quantity' of oil and rules out any possibility of spillage.

Six years after the oil-carrying 'M V Sea Transporter' was grounded off the Sinquerim beach, the 'River Princess' owned by Salgaonkar Shipping has drifted to the same area, ironically on the same day -- 6 June!

It is the 240 metre-long ore carrier bought by Salgaonkars to rebuilt as a trans-shipper, which drifted away after being anchored for a year and a half when heavy monsoon rains created havoc along the Goan coast.

"I plan to salvage it after the monsoons in September. The ship is very strong and quite safe in the present place," says Anil Salgaonkar, the chairman of Salgaonkar Shipping. He claims that the ship does not contain any oil.

"Why aren't the government authorities reassuring the people that the ship has no oil?" asks Arvind Chopra, general manager of Whispering Palms. Even the local administration's efforts to do something on the issue have failed.

"Besides environment, the tourism industry would be the worst affected. Even the global tour operators have expressed concern over the matter," informs Joaquim Monteiro, general manager of the Taj Holiday Village.

While admitting that the ship is not insured, Salgaonkar says he is not prepared to tow it away in this weather.

The Coast Guard, however, is prepared to provide tugs to pull the ship out, but only if the local state government takes initiative since it falls within the state jurisdiction. They have, meanwhile, rescued the 14 crew members from the ship.

The state authorities do not appear to have geared up for any action till date. "We will approach the Coast Guard to get the tugs for rescue operations," says Sanjeev Khirwar, the North Goa collector.

"Salvage is possible even in this bad weather, but it may cost more than what the owners could recover by scrapping the vessel in its present location," opines Anil Madgaonkar, a ship salvager.

The hoteliers fear because the ship has already tilted which, according to them, may be due to leakage being developed in the vessel. "No, the tilt is because the sand on one side below the ship has washed away," counters Salgaonkar.

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