Goa Govt orders to attach Pawar-owned oil tanker
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 27 May 2013 23:52 IST
Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Goa government will attach MT Pratibha Bheema, a crude oil tanker, reportedly owned by a central minister.
The ship reportedly belongs to Pratibha Shipping Co Ltd, the owners of which are close relatives of union agriculture miniser Sharad Pawar.
They were arrested in March by Chennai police as the grounded MT Pratibha Cauvery caused death of six crew members.
The huge oil tanker is lying anchored nine nautical miles off Goa coast towards on the northern side of the tourist state.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar said it belongs to a central minister, but declines to disclose details.
He has ordered to attach the ship, as big as River Princess, on the grounds of disaster it could cause with the forthcoming monsoons.
The information surfed on the internet revealed that MT Pratibha Bheema belongs to Pratibha Shipping Co Ltd, owned by Sunil and Suhar Anandrao Pawar.
“There are six such ships left anchored in the sea but the Director General of Shipping is scared to take action against it”, claimed Parrikar.
The district collector has been told to take help of the Mormugao Port Trust to pull the ship to the port, failing which it could drift away to the shore like River Princess.
Parrikar also said the ship has been lying idle in the sea waters for the last three months while 11 crew members are living on it without enough food stock.
