Shipping DG seeks probe into owners credentials

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Was the blast on board the ship ITB Jacksonville which claimed the lives of five persons including a Malayali engineer, Manikuttan, a product of the irresponsible attitude of the vessel’s owners? The Director-General of Shipping, India, has expressed his concern over the seaworthiness of the vessel in a letter forwarded to the Indian High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria.'Express’ has in possession a copy of letter forwarded by the DG, Shipping, to the Indian High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria, seeking a probe into the blast which occurred on September 4. In the letter dated September 13, the DGShipping has asked the High Commission to obtain the documents from the owners of the ship and forward the same to the DG.In the employment contract Manikuttan signed with the shipping company six months ago, it was stated that he is to be employed for a delivery voyage wherein he will join the ship at Lagos in Nigeria and will sail from there on ballast or with cargo.  But, in the letter of DG, it is clearly stated that according to the master (captain) of the ship, the vessel was lying at anchorage in Lagos for the last one-and -a-half years waiting to be scrapped.Another anomaly that the DG Shipping found in the statement of the master of the ship was that the vessel was flagged with the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, an island nation in the Caribbean. However, the St Kitts and Nevis administration confirmed that the vessel is no longer flagged under them, the letter said.The DG Shipping has requested the Indian High Commission to obtain information pertaining to the flag of vessel at the time of accident, full details of owners/current partners/local agents of the vessel, copy of all valid original and statutory certificates of the vessel at the time of the accident, full data regarding the ‘Protection and Indemnity Club’ of the vessel and whether the insurance cover was valid at the time of the accident, the status of investigation by the local police and the status of bringing back the mortal remains of the deceased.Meanwhile, the process of bringing back the mortal remains of the deceased has been delayed again, allegedly due to the laxity in the part of Manikuttan’s employers. As many as five crew members had gone missing following the blast, out of which the death of four were confirmed.