A consignment of over 100 tonnes of explosives, carried in six shipping containers. The ship was bound for Bander Abbas in Iran where the consignment was to be unlaoded and moved overland from Iran to Jaranz in Afghanistan since Pakistan does not permit such cargo to be sent from India over its territory. The consigment was of commercial grade explosives meant for use by Border Road Organization (BRO) for road construction.
The master of the vessel reported the loss to the shipping company Unimarine Limited in Mumbai and was ordered to return. Investigating team are probing the loss of containers, divers of the Indian Navy are engaged in locating the sunken boxes and the ships crew of six (four Russians and two Myanmarese) are being questioned.
The investigating agencies are also working on the agent that booked the cargo for the BRO. Interestingly, a BRO official has noted that till the consignment was delivered, the organisation could not take responsibility for it. He said the order for 100 tonnes of the explosive was placed with the Secunderabad based Premier Explosive Limited with requisite clearances of the chief controller of explosives.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency has, through the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) provided guidelines for transport of dangerous goods by sea. Besides, the international convention for the Safely of Life At Sea 1974 (SOLAS 1974) also stipulates the requirements for packaging cargo of explosives. All dangerous cargo shipped by packages or boxes should be packed in good condition and provided protection for shipment at sea and port. Also, the containers that carry dangerous cargo should meet the specifications to Containers Safely Convention (CSC) 1972 and shipment of dangerous cargo by containers should be subject to the requirements of the IMDG Code.
MV Eugenia incident has raised four important questions. First relates to the dubious record of the vessel. In July, a ship by the same name, carrying a cargo of about 300 tonnes of arms and ammunition, was escorted to Mormugao, because of reports that it was sinking.
Secondly, the poor state of hull of the vessel. In early September, the Kolkata Port Trust had detained MV Eugenia at the Kidderpore docks as it was carrying arms and ammunition from Yugoslavia for Bangladesh and Indonesia. Besides, the ship was also undergoing repairs due to ruptured hull. The IMGD Code demands that the vessel carrying bulk dangerous cargo should have a Certificate of fitness. It is not known if the fitness certificate was examined prior to loading the BRO consignment.
Thirdly, the incident is a classic case of gross violation of international laws relating to the carriage/ transportation of explosives onboard ships as ennunciated in the IMGD Code. The Captain of the vessel that carries dangerous cargo should also guarantee the presence of sufficient number of vessels staff for emergency precautions and should provide continuous supervision for the process of handling dangerous cargo to and from the vessel. In the case of MV Eugenia, the ship has a total crew of six who cannot be considered adequate to respond to an onboard explosive related accident.
Fourthly, the responsibility of the shipping agent. The shipping agent or the shipper should ensure that the ship being chartered is materially fit and not a tramp vessel. Interestingly, the Unimarine Limited has noted that there was nothing fishy about the whole incident when the fact remains that the cargo has been lost under suspicious circumstances. It will be important to keep in mind that the Arabian Sea is very calm in December and such an accident cannot be attributed to bad weather. Also, that the position where the containers fell overboard are close to the harbour where the sea is generally calm.
There is also a fear that the containers carrying the BRO consignment were not loaded onboard MV Eugenia and may have changed hands. This fears gains more credence in the light of an incident when containers carying arms went missing. Not so long ago, in May 2005, the Mumbai police seized a Rs 1-crore arms haul of small arms. These had been cleverly packed in one of the 20 barrels of industrial grease carried in a container and imported by a biotech and poultry-food company. The consignment originated in Bangkok and included 34 Webley Colt and Wesson revolvers, three powerful pistols, a silencer and some 1,283 rounds of ammunition. Interestingly, eight containers, each with several barrels, were addressed to the agro-biotech firm. Four of the containers were delivered and the fifth was inspected by the Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and was scanned using the hi-tech X-ray facility. The other three containers were reportedly missing.
The threat of terrorism has put a special emphasis on trade and transportation security. Containers have emerged as the classical Trojan Horses. Governments and stakeholders such as ports, shipping agents, and industries have to find new ways to respond to the threat of containers being used as tools for terrorism, illegal activities, drug and arms smuggling and even for transporting weapon of mass destruction. There is thus a need to look for solutions for a safe system of commerce and a credible approach to security is essential.
The author is a Senior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Source: Sahara Time, New Delhi, January 10, 2006.
* Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Observer Research Foundation.
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