A Hong Kong cargo ship that was coming from Shanghai and beached at Karachi Sea View after losing its anchors owing to rough sea on Wednesday is still stuck at the KSV on the third consecutive day, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday.
The work on drifting the ship off the Karachi harbour has not started as yet. The MV Heng Tong 77 was beached at the Karachi coast on the first day of Eid.
According to the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), the cargo ship entered the Pakistani waters for the change of shipping line crew. It said that the ship did not enter the Karachi harbour. It maintained that the engine of cargo ship could not sustain the high tides of the sea. The tides pushed it back to the sea and then it started drifting to the shallow water. When the KPT got information, the ship was already drifting along with the high tides. The KPT could not provide any help to the ship.
The KPT immediately alerted the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PSMA). However, the stuck cargo ship has not affected the KPT navigation channel.
The KPT said that it was also keeping an eye on marine pollution.
The KPT is of the view that to salvage the ship is the responsibility of the owner of the ship and the shipowner would also be accountable for any marine and environmental damage.
Reporter Rana Ayaz