As posted earlier, the tanker MT Pratibha Cauvery continues
to attract huge crowds to the Foreshore Estate beach. From Chennai Port Kakinada
You might sure have heard of ‘tug boats’ – looking similar
to fishing trawlers but packing great power. These Tug boats are often smaller with
width:length ratio higher as it would need a lower draught. They require minimum crew – they are stationed
at harbours; pilot, pull and bring bigger ships in to their designated place
inside the Port. In ports where mid-sea
loading / unloading takes place, tugs would pull barges in a row.
When a boat runs aground, they try to loosen the soil
around, and try to pull and veer back the struck boat back to the waters, at
high tides with the help of powerful tugs and other boats. Perhaps a very similar process might be
adopted in ship too. It is stated that
the first attempt would be to pull ship into the sea with the help of Malviya
21. The stranded vessel reportedly has 3.5 tonnes of diesel oil and 357 tonnes of
furnace oil. . There is concern on oil
leakage and resultant damage to the environment. Generally, cargo on holds will be unloaded to
lessen the load weight of the vessel. In
the case of Pratibha Cauvery, it is stated that it had no cargo except for the
ballast water, which would be released to lessen the weight.
Photo of tug Malviya 21 –
courtesy The Hindu
News reports confirm that the Tug Malviya 21 arrived in
Chennai travelling for a day and is now berthed at Chennai port. The tug is expected to pull Pratibha Cauvery
out of the shallow waters.. Incase, it failed, another ship, SCI Ratna, is
expected to join the pulling exercise. There
is news that the global experts SMIT salvage surveyed the ship and have bee chartering
plans to tug the ship. Sources state that
the owners - Pratibha Shipping Company had signed Lloyds Open Form of salvage
agreement.
Malviya, the tug is so much in news ! – a tugboat (tug) is a boat that manouvers vessels by towing them. Tugs move vessels that either
should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow
canal, or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships,
or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for their size and strongly built, and
some are ocean-going.
As could be read there is reference to bollard pull of the
tug. A bollard is a short vertical post.
The term is probably related to bole, meaning a tree trunk. That is not being referred to here. It is Bollard pull. Bollard pull is a value that allows the
comparison of the pulling force of watercraft, particularly tugboats. Bollard pull is the zero speed pulling
capability of the tug. It is a measure of the usefulness of the ship in a
stranding scenario or in holding a large tanker or aircraft carrier off a lee
shore. Bollard pull is tested when a tug is built and certified by one of the
classification societies. Bollard pull, like horsepower, is a selling point for
tugs and is sometimes overstated.
As indicated in Press, the vessel Pratibha Cauvery is no
great financial shape – can you guess the indicated cost of salvaging the
vessel. Going by a report in Hindu
Business Line, the Mumbai-based Pratibha
Shipping may have to spend nearly Rs 40 crore for salvage operations as well as
to foot the hotel and hospital bills of the crew of its beached vessel,
Pratibha Cauvery.
The vessel has already become subject matter of litigation
and it is reported in Business Line that
the company is making arrangements to
immediately secure Rs 20-25 crore to pay the hotel and hospital bills for the
crew; compensation for the six crew members who died and wage bills for the
other crew members, said an official who is not authorised to speak to the
media. The report states that the 31 members
of the crew have been put up in various hotels across the city. The vessel is reportedly insured with PSU New
India Assurance.
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
6th Nov. 2012.
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