Inquiry gets underway into Indian tanker collision
A senior port official in India has laid the finger of blame on the BW Maple VLGC for the collision which took place off Chennai on January 28 resulting in a massive fuel leak that washed up on nearby beaches.
The BW Maple collided with a local product tanker, Dawn Kanchipuram, hitting its tanks and leading to tons of fuel leaking, something local authorities have been heavily criticised for their poor response to the accident.
M.A. Bhaskarachar, chairman of Kamarajar Port maintained that the pilot of the BW Maple, who had left the ship, got in touch with the master of the gas carrier to urgently warn him he was on a collision course with the other inbound Indian tanker.
“Investigations are still ongoing, and it will not be appropriate for us to speculate on the cause of the collision. The vessel is currently at KPL Port outer anchorage, with her original crew and captain,” a spokesperson for BW LPG told Splash today.