News
Ill-fated ship’s owner bankrupt, owes Govt. Rs. 280m.
The owner of the ship that sank off the Panadura coast last month, owes the Government US$ 2.1 million or LKR 280 million, while others expressed fears of more oil still inside the vessel.
Merchant Shipping Director General Ajith Senaviratne conceded that the ship owner owed Rs. 280 million + for various services, such as bunkering charges, crew wages, food and water, etc., provided by the authorities for the past three-and-a-half years.
A person picks up oil globules on Mount Lavia beach. Pic by M.D. Nissanka
“The only option left to recover these dues is to salvage the vessel and remove the shipment of steel worth some US$ 300 million or approximately LKR 43 billion, which will have to be done through a court order,” Mr. Senavaratne said.
He added that reports that the ship owner based in Greece was bankrupt were being looked into.
These reports were supported by the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) which initiated court action against the vessel’s owner, when the ship entered Colombo Port for urgent repairs.ITF Spokesperson Ranjan Perera said the ship owner was traced and found and found to be a former local politician in Greece and jailed for fraud.
“He initially owned four vessels of which he sold three, to settle huge debts. The vessel that sank off Panadura was the only ship he owned now.“The authorities are trying to sue a man who is bankrupt, with zero financial resources. This will be a futile exercise,” Mr. Perera added.
Meanwhile, Merchant Shipping officials associated with the vessel, since it was anchored in the country’s waters, claimed the presence of some 120 tons of furnace oil when the vessel sank and warned of a larger spill in the near future, once the vessel starts to break up.
They dismissed claims by the authorities that there was only 40 tons of oil inside the vessel. “These claims are absurd, and what the authorities should be doing right now is to get prepared for the eventuality of another oil spill of a larger magnitude, instead of making irresponsible statements to the media,” they said.
They added that there was 350 tons of heavy oil on the ship, of which only 210 tons were pumped out by the authorities, before the vessel sank.
“The relevant authorities should have acted faster and reduced the oil spill, instead of wasting time with bureaucratic bungling and red tape,” they added.
‘Indo-Lanka pirates’ trying to salvage vessel on the sly
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times learns that there are clandestine moves by certain individuals with political affiliations, to salvage the vessel and the cargo, with the assistance of an Indian company.
This Indian company was allowed a free hand in salvaging several shipwrecks off Mannar and the northern coasts soon after the end of the war.
Earlier, these same individuals had sought to tow the vessel from Panadura to a location in the east coast, but decided against it, owing to the poor condition of the ship, fearing it could break up in mid-sea, the Sunday Times has learned.
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