Karaikal, Puducherry:
Three barges proceeding to Paradip Port in Odisha from Mumbai with 20 crew members on board ran aground near Karaikal, over the past two days in rough seas, but there were no reports of casualties, port sources said.
They said a ship, a crane barge and two barges were proceeding to Paradip port from Mumbai. The first incident occurred on Thursday when the rope connecting the crane barge and the ship snapped in strong winds and rough seas in between Karaikal-Nagapattinam stretch
The crane barge drifted towards coast and was grounded near Nagore on Thursday afternoon.
While efforts were on to return this barge back to sea, crew of the other two barges tried to bring them to this port for anchoring. But strong tidal waves pushed the barges ashore and they were grounded near Arasalar estuary in Karaikal.
Coast Guard officials rushed to the spot and conducted enquiries. The shipping company informed the CG they had taken steps to retrieve all three barges, the sources said.