With almost 37 people dead and 38 still missing after an accommodation barge sank 35 nautical miles off Mumbai coast, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is at the receiving end of criticism in the way in which it managed the warnings by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) regarding Cyclone Tauktae.
According to experts, it may well be an error in judgement on the part of the master of the vessel or the company in charge of the operations that might have claimed the lives of so many workers.
“Everyone was made aware of the cyclone and warnings were sent to take precautions. Then why did ONGC not follow protocols? They should have evacuated all their workers from the barges,” said Nawab Malik, Maharashtra minister.
ONGC had blamed the mishap to the change in direction of the cyclone and an unexpected increase in wind speed. This claim was rejected by the IMD on May 20.
Moneycontrol looks at the action that ONGC and its contractor Afcons International did after they were alerted about the cyclone.
Warning received on cyclone alert
Afcons said the onus of operations is on Durmast, the owner of the barge. According to industry experts, the barge should have been already shifted to a safe location after the alert.
Published weather reports, including cyclone alerts, are for the general region of operation, and not particularly for any exact area of operation. A standard practice of offshore contractors is to obtain a weather forecast for the work location from well-known weather forecasters, which are typically issued twice a day, and provide weather forecasts for the next seven days.
Marine, as well as construction operations, are planned based on the location-specific forecasts. The same practice was followed by Afcons, the company said.
The weather forecasts received on May 14 predicted that sustained wind speed of a maximum of 40 knots (classified as a tropical storm) is likely to occur at a specific work location late on May 16 and on May 17.
Preventive and precautionary measures
According to Afcons, after receiving the alert, it directed all vessels to secure their respective work locations and move to a safe location at the earliest. Accordingly, all vessels and barges, including P305, commenced moving out of their work locations on May 14 and May 15.
“While the other barges moved to Mumbai Port / Mumbai Outer Anchorage / Anchorage close to Revandanda, the master of P305 chose to move 200 metres away from the HT platform, where the Barge P305 was working, and to remain at that location, deciding it as a safe location since the maximum predicted wind speed was only 40 knots and his location was 120 nautical miles away from the eye of the tropical storm,” Afcons said.
Despite this, the weather conditions deteriorated rapidly from the evening of May 16, reaching levels far worse than predicted. “The sudden deterioration of weather left no time at all for any further action to be taken by the master of the vessel,” it said.
The company added that as per the normal marine protocol, as well as the specific charter agreement for P305, matters concerning vessel safety lie under the responsibility of the owner and the barge master, who is in the best position to decide on the appropriate course of action regarding vessel safety, as he has the necessary skill sets as well as the understanding of his vessel and its equipment.
Afcons had chartered the vessel from Durmast. Durmast is the owner and the responsibility for marine operations rests with the vessel owner and his marine crew stationed on the vessel. “As per the international standards, vessel-chartering terms which were adopted for the charter of P305, the responsibility for the marine side of the operations, namely safe-vessel operation, navigation and vessel management come under the scope of work of the vessel owners, carried out through the vessel’s master, officers, and the crew appointed on the vessel by the owner,” Afcons said. Afcons, as charterer, deploys its construction workmen and supervisors, who stay on the barge and carry out construction or revamp work on the platform.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has set up a three-member committee to look into the events that led to the P305 incident.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
