Oil laden ship grounded near Paradip coast

Paradip, Orissa, Apr 10 (UNI) A ship carrying diesel and kerosene was grounded 45 km off Paradip coast on Sunday, official sources said here today.

According to marine official sources, the ship 'Punita' was carrying 33,000 metric tones of diesel and 12,000 metric tonnes of kerosene oil from New Mangalore port to Paradip when it was grounded due to some technical snag.

The ship grounded in the sea after hitting against the sand just half a kilometer from the break water area of the port. A major portion of the ship was now under the water, Port sources said.

To avoid any oil slick in the area, the port authorities have decided to unload the oils from the ship to another ship and accordingly ship 'Nandasmita' was engaged on Monday.

The grounded ship was supposed to unload 20,000 metric tonnes of oil in Paradip port and the remaining oil at Haldia port of West Bengal.

UNI