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Sunday, Jun 19, 2011
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Attempts to tow m.v. Wisdom fail again

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE

Long haul:Tug boats attempt to pull the grounded cargo ship m.v. Wisdom back into the sea near Mumbai on Sunday.

Mumbai: For the second day in a row, attempts to haul the ship MV Wisdom from Mumbai's Juhu beach into the sea failed on Saturday.

The 9,000-tonne cargo vessel, which ran aground near the beach recently, was being towed to a ship breaking yard in Gujarat's Alang. However, it broke away from the tug in rough weather and ran aground near the beach. Operations to put it back in the sea started on Friday, but have not borne fruit so far.

“In today's [Saturday's] attempt by the salvage team, the vessel did not respond as expected. Salvers said they will make one last attempt on Sunday in high tide at about 3 p.m. If it is not successful, the next attempt would be made in the next spring tides, about a fortnight from now,” a press note issued by the Directorate-General of Shipping said.

“Only after it turns substantially can it be moved. On Saturday it turned about 4 to 5 degrees. The salvers are hopeful. They will give it a fresh shot on Sunday. It's been on sand for six days. So, there is ground friction. Now that the ship has moved to some extent, the high tide on Sunday will allow us to put it back in the sea,” Satish Agnihotri, Director General of Shipping told The Hindu over phone.

Mr. Agnihotri said there is no oil or cargo on the ship. He ruled out any risk despite the possibility of a 15-day wait if the third attempt fails too.

“Beach erosion does not take place in one month,” Mr. Agnihotri said.

Asked about the probability of having to break the ship in Mumbai itself, he said that was “the last call.” “We are not thinking of it as yet. A lot depends on current condition, wind speed and ground friction.”

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