Collision of Two Containers Ships
Collision of Two Containers Ships: On Monday two containers Hapag-Lloyd’s 8,000-TEU Tolten and 6,350-TEU Hamburg Bay containing 21 ships collided with each other at the South Asia’s busiest seaports, South Asia Port Terminal (SAPT). They were carrying imported cars and freight worth millions of rupees. Everything slipped in the sea after the vessels of ships bumped into each other. Two berths of the shipyard were also damaged in the crash. However, no human causalities were reported in this collision.
Soon after the incident Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Pakistan Navy teams arrived at the site and began relief and recovery operations.
Karachi Port Trust have started the investigation into this matter and will start recovery work from today. This process of recovery will clear route of the ships, remove containers present in the sea and fix the damaged parts of the ships. KPT have blamed the in-charged pilots of the vessels who knew the sea routes, mismanaged it. They will submit a report after their return from the site of the collision.
Due to the incident, the operation at the terminal has been temporarily discontinued and will resume after the containers are removed from the sea through a special operation by the Karachi Port Trust. The South Asia Port Terminal (SAPT) will open for traffic after recovery operation.
As per media sources, similar incident occurred two months ago due to the pilot’s carelessness but it was not reported to media.
Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is a Pakistani federal government agency that supervises the operations of the Port of Karachi in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The port was administered by the Karachi Harbour Board between 1880 and 1887. The Karachi Port Trust was then established by the Act IV of 1886. Currently the Chairman of Karachi Port Trust is Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar.