Vietnamese merchant vessel tilts while loading
A Vietnam-based merchant vessel was tilted here at West Quay-5 berth in Visakhapatnam Port on Wednesday. Observing the threat, all 17-member crew of the vessel immediately jumped on to the berth. The survey teams rushed to the spot and began restoring operations.
Visakhapatnam: A Vietnam-based merchant vessel was tilted here at West Quay-5 berth in Visakhapatnam Port on Wednesday. Observing the threat, all 17-member crew of the vessel immediately jumped on to the berth. The survey teams rushed to the spot and began restoring operations.
According to Traffic Manager, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Jaya Dev, MV Hai Duong berthed in the harbour for loading iron blooms in the evening. JM Baxi Company is the stevedores of the ship. Jai Dev said that all the crew of ship are safe and restoration works already put on.
While loading any cargo in the ships, the operators should maintain the balance and should place the cargo in phased manner into the compartments. However, sources said that the crane operator wrongly loaded the blooms one side of the ship.
Unable to balance the load, the ship suddenly tilted towards the berth. Port workers said major accident was prevented as the ship tilted towards the berth. If the ship tilted towards the waters, the entire ship might be sunken, the workers said. It is for the first time in the history of VPT that a ship was tilted in harbour while loading cargo.
