Indian Navy probes warship collision
INDIA: Indian defence officials began a probe Monday into a collision
between a warship and a merchant vessel near Mumbai, in the latest
incident in the busy waters outside the city, an officer said.
The INS Vindhyagiri suffered damage and a fire broke out near the
engine room as she returned to the city's naval dockyard Sunday with the
families of navy personnel on board.
"The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. That will only
happen subsequent to the naval board of inquiry that will be set up,"
defence ministry spokesman Captain M. Nambiar told AFP.
Firefighters and military personnel battled thick smoke to bring the
fire on the Leander class frigate under control as she was towed back to
the dockyard from the busy shipping channel off India's financial
capital.
Nambiar said the ship, which was commissioned in 1981, was listing in
the dock's shallow waters because of damage to her hull but would right
herself once pumping began. Defence officials in New Delhi said that
ammunition on board was cleared and that "all efforts" were made to
contain the fire and flooding. "Necessary measures have also been taken
to prevent any spillage of oil from the ship," a statement said.
About 150 people were on board the vessel and had been on a short
excursion when the collision happened with the Cyprus-flagged MV
Nordlake, which was leaving Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).
No one was injured, said Nambiar. Six months ago, two cargo vessels
collided off Mumbai, sending containers spilling into the sea, grounding
one of the ships and causing it to list badly. Shipping traffic into and
out of JNPT and the Mumbai Port Trust - which together handle about 40
percent of India's maritime cargo - was severely disrupted after the
waterway was closed due to the hazard. AFP
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