Cargo ships collide at Mumbai – all inbound and outbound sailings suspended
August 9, 2010 by SwizStick
Filed under India, QuickNews, Seafreight
MSC Chitra leaking oil and listing after collision in Mumbai harbor on Saturday (image received via e-mail from contacts in India)
If you source from India and your logistics service provider is any good, hopefully they’ve already given you a heads up. There was a major accident in Mumbai harbor when the vessel MV Khalijia III, carrying steel coils, and a container ship, the 2,314 TEU MSC Chitra, collided on Saturday. There were no reported injuries or deaths and the India Coast Guard rescued all sailors. The MSC Chitra has lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 containers overboard and is listing dangerously in the harbor. The good news is that the oil leak from the MSC Chitra into the harbor has been plugged. However, there is still the oil slick to deal with and also the danger of further environmental damage as it appears some of the containers that have gone overboard contain hazardous materials:
At least 31 containers with hazardous chemicals including organo-phosphorous pesticides, sodium hydrochloride and pyrethroid pesticides are on board and quite a few of them might have tumbled into the sea and their contents leaked, he said.
The biggest impact to the global supply chain is the closure of Jawaharlal Nehru / Mumbai ports. Already the ports have been closed for 2 days and there’s no firm timetable for when they will reopen:
It may take “at least a couple of days” for normal operations to resume, said Venkatesh, whose group represents about 130 exporters and freight forwarders. He said there hasn’t been a similar collision in the channels off Mumbai in his 30 years in the industry.
As the above linked article mentions, these two ports handle about 40% of the exports coming out of India. If your company sources from India, chances are the majority of your product comes through these port complexes. There are a number of vessels sitting in the harbor awaiting departure and a number of vessels that are delaying arrival due to the closure. Check with your respective carriers and logistics service providers to see which of your containers / vessels are being delayed due to the temporary port closure.
Here’s a short news clip from India on the vessel collision.
As slightly longer video with more commentary on the oil spill from the MSC vessel here:
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