Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Jan 17: The operation of removing fuel from Princess Miral ship, which sank near Battappadi of Ullal, while transporting steel coils from China to Lebanon, began on Monday.
Bansal Endeavours, a company from Gujarat origin has acquired the contract to remove the diesel. Around 30 tonnes of diesel was drawn out of the ship till Monday evening, as per sources.
A team of experts arrived a week ago in Mangaluru and made all preparations to pump the fuel from the sunken ship. A vacuum pump is being used to draw the fuel out from the vessel. A bunker barge with a capacity of 320 tonnes is ready for the same purpose. The removed fuel will be transferred to the bunker barge and brought to old port in Bunder. Later, it will be sent for reuse.
In the month of October, a UAE based company Monjasa DMCC, put a petition in the high court asking to withhold the ship till it gets its due of US $1,71,301 (Rs 1.39 crore). Accordingly, the high court passed an order to withhold the vessel. However, the district administration put a petition to high court to give permission to remove the fuel as it may cause environment pollution, which was granted by the court. The district administration urged to empty the fuel first, then the steel coils and the ship itself.