Mumbai oil slick: Probe finds MV Khalijia to blame

Mumbai: Nearly a month after the collision of two cargo ships, MV Khalijia and MSC Chitra, off the Mumbai coast resulted in a massive oil slick, the inquiry by the Director General of shipping has found that the MV Khalijia was mainly responsible for the accident.

The collision had resulted in over 800 tonnes of oil leaking from the Chitra and it's cargo had also fallen into the sea, blocking the channel.

The inquiry accessed by NDTV found:

• MV Khalijia entered the navigation channel at the wrong time and at the wrong angle
  
• It was meant to enter the channel at a parallel angle. Instead it was perpendicular
  
• As a result it occupied almost the entire length of the channel
  
• MV Khalijia had also cast off two tug boats provided by the Mumbai port trust to stabilise the ship
  
• Tugs were provided after an earlier accident when it had damaged the bottom of the ship by dragging anchor
• Captain of MV Khalijia contacted the Captain of MSC Chitra only two minutes before the accident

The inquiry report is also critical of the Mumbai Port trust's Vehicle Traffic Monitoring System (VTMS), a radar, which is meant to track the movement of ships in its waters.

The inquiry found that one out of the two radars was not working and no one was near the screen monitoring the ship movements. The VTMS staff was ignorant about the approaching ships .

The state government has fined the MSC Chitra over Rs 3 crores for polluting the coast after the collision but these findings could well pave the way for a claim on the M V Khalijia.