The Ministry of Shipping and the Directorate General of Shipping seem to have finally woken up to the sinking of MV Rak. Six days after the ship sank off the Mumbai coast on August 4, the DG Shipping on Wednesday directed ONGC to initiate assessment of oil being released from the ship.

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“The ONGC has been directed by the Directorate General of Shipping under the provision of Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 to release a suitable specialised diving support vessel to undertake the preliminary assessment of the oil being released from the sunken ship. The vessel is expected to reach at site of casualty on August 11 for undertaking the assessment,” said the ministry in a statement.

“The local P & I correspondent has also been instructed by the Directorate to engage an expert diving supervisor to guide the diving operations which is likely to commence on August 11 in the early hours of morning subject to favourable prevailing sea and weather conditions. The expert divers would identify the source of leak and if practicable and possible to plug such leak to check the outflow,” the release added.

The directions came after a follow-up action conducted by the Director General of Shipping on Wednesday. The government is seeking help from international experts. Help is being sought from International Tanker Owner Pollution Federation, a non-Governmental organisation to assist in the conduct of survey mapping of the affected areas and provide guidance to the concerned authorities including owner to deal with the clean-up operation.