By Staff Reporter

MV North Bay and MV Lapathy two MS class vehicle ferries were commissioned by the Lt Governor with great fanfare on July 22, 2008 at the Dockyard complex. On 23rd the vehicle ferry at Gandhighat developed some snag and MV North Bay was rushed to restore normal service there. She reached Gandhighat on 24th midday and was immediately pressed into service. But the relief proved short-lived as, on the next day, July 25 she rammed against the fender, the tyre fender slipped aside and the protruding rod jabbed into the underwater side plate of MV North Bay and water started gushing in from the hole. The crew immediately started dewatering process to save the vessel.

The brand new Rs 4.50 crores worth of ship had failed to perform even for 24 hours. Shamshad Ali, a certified master told LoA that though MS Class vessels, MV Lapathy and MV North Bay were single hull vessels unlike the old ones; MV Pilopanja and Pilobhabi plying in Harbour Ferry Service. He further said that such vessels usually have double hull that forms a chamber under water. Even if the outer plate is sheered, cut or gets a hole due to an accident, the vessel would continue to reach not only its destination but also provide service with caution till proper repairs are carried out. But a single hull vessel runs the risk of sinking if the intake of water is more than the capacity to pump it out.

"Landing crafts run the risk of abrasion on the bottom plate and chances of hitting on the jetty during heavy currents in the creek are pretty high" said a retired chief engine driver of Marine Department. That was why, he said all the MS vessels, particularly old vehicle ferries had double hull.

However, sources in the shipping department were tight-lipped about the entire North Bay episode. They refused to comment or just said "we are investigating. The details are not known" A junior subordinate though commented that it was a design problem and the department had no say in the matter. All the vessels of A&N Administration were designed by the National Ship Design & Research Centre (NSDRC), Hyderabad, an autonomous society under the shipping and transport ministry. It was responsible for design and supervision of the ship during construction.

Further probing revealed that NSDRC itself was in a precarious condition. It once had over 150 efficient engineers and ship wrights engaged in designing ships, boats, barges and offshore structures. But the atmosphere was too suffocating and the remuneration; a pittance in comparison to what was on offer elsewhere. The capable hands started deserting the Centre and it had turned into a skeleton with barely dozen staff on roll.

It was also revealed that in many cases, the shipbuilding work was stalled as NSDRC did not have enough supervisory engineers and shipwrights to inspect the work in time and give a green signal to proceed further or suggest modifications.

LoA contacted NV Rao, Chief Operating Officer of National Ship Design & Research Centre, Hyderabad over phone to find out the reason why an MS Class vessel supposed to sail from one end of the territory to the other end was designed with single hull. "It was a very old design" he replied. Reminded that this one was a post tsunami proposal and could not be very old, he replied: "It was only a small vessel and such small vessels usually are not provided with double hull". Shifting the onus on the directorate of shipping services, he continued "Moreover, we design ships as per the requirement of the client agencies. What theyma dend, we design."

"The shipping department has three husbands; the Ministry of Shipping, NSDRC and the Shipping Corporation of India. The poor lady has to dance on the tunes of these masters" said a bitter chief engine driver who understands the mechanics of shipping affairs. "We can't pick our shipwrights, we can't select our builders nor can we find the best technical supervisor available in the market. Our job is to shell out money as directed by the shipping ministry." he continued. "There is no hope for any substantial improvement in shipping service till the stranglehold is broken" he concluded with a lot of acrimony in his voice.

MV Lapathy with broken ramp is not operational