Box vessel tilts at India’s Mundra Port due to stability problems

The Panama-flagged, 1999-built  arrived at Mundra International Container Terminal (MICT) from Jebel Ali on 7 January.

MICT is operated by DP World under a concession arrangement with the Mundra port owner Adani Group (APSEZ).

As a consequence of the tilting, some containers fell into the sea, according to sources.

“Understand the incident occurred due to an error in calculating ballasting parameters as the vessel was multi-purpose,” a local ship agency official said.

Sources also said marine movements through the fairway to MICT had to be suspended for the recovery of lost units.

“As soon as the port authorities received this information, emergency protocols were activated,” an APSEZ official said

The official further noted, “According to our standard operating procedure (SOP) on preparedness, we responded by deploying tugs and our marine and port management teams rushed to the spot.”

The official went on to explain, “Our teams assisted in ensuring the safety of personnel and the vessel.  The cause of the vessel’s tilting is being investigated by the authorities. All personnel are safe and secure. There has been no damage to jetties or port property. Port operations are normal.”

According to available information, the Sea Xpress was on an inducement call, connecting trade to Turkey and Russia.

Jenny Daniel
Global Correspondent