Splash247: Boxship runs aground near Kolkata after steering failure
Published by Splash247
A Singapore-flagged containership ran aground on the Hooghly River after striking an embankment near Diamond Harbour, about 50 km south of Kolkata, in an incident attributed to steering failure and strong currents.
The Regional Container Lines (RCL)-owned 13,852 dwt Nawata Bhum was inbound to Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata from Port Klang in Malaysia when its steering gear jammed while attempting to recover from a turn.
The ship ran aground on Wednesday, and its bow became lodged in the embankment close to the Nurpur ferry ghat. No ferries were there at the time, and no injuries were reported. Part of the riverbank and a small road were damaged by the boxship.
“It hit the riverbank close to the Nurpur ferry ghat. After realising that the steering was jammed, the ship’s master alerted people on the bank by constantly blowing its horn. Fortunately, there were no ferries nearby, or they might have been crushed,” an unnamed official told local media.
Pilots from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority on Nawata Bhum notified the port immediately after the collision.
The vessel remained aground for several hours until tugboats pulled it free around 22:30 local time, during high tide.
Local media claimed that the hull was undamaged and the ship could proceed to Kolkata under tow. It was reported that two tug vessels were still on location on Thursday morning local time.
This is not the first time this has happened on the river. In August 2023, the MTT Singapore boxship ran aground near Garchumuk after its steering malfunctioned.
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