Pumping of water from stranded Chinese ship continues

Mangalore, Sep 11 (UNI) Pumping of water from the tilted Chinese ship 'Cheng Le Men', about 1400 M from Tannirbhavi beach near New Mangalore port, continued today.

Old Mangalore Port official Mohan Kudri told UNI here that since pumping was slow, it might take two more days to complete the task.

The work was underway both manually and with the help of machines to discharge water from the vessel, loaded with 16,100 tonnes of iron ore fines.

Mobilisation of men and equipment was also underway and two tugs -- one from Mumbai and another from New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) -- would be deployed here for the purpose. A total of 14 experts were working on the salvage operation, he said.

The Chinese merchant ship, loaded with iron ore fines meant for China, had developed a technical snag after leaving the New Mangalore Port on Thursday and started tilting on its side about seven nautical miles from the port near Tannirbhavi. Realising the trouble, the Captain of the ship had 'beached' the ship on Friday last, with the ship tilting at 16 degrees.

In the same place, an Eritrean Ship 'Den Den' had sunk on June 23.

UNI