The k2p blog

From thelocal.de:

Cargo Ship Nordlake 22,450 tons

A German cargo ship has slammed into an Indian frigate in the port of Mumbai, causing the military vessel to catch fire and eventually sink.

The ocean liner Nordlake, based in Hamburg and managed by the Klaus E. Oldendorff shipping company, crashed into the Indian navy vessel Vindhyagiri in a narrow navigation channel at the entrance to the port of Mumbai on Sunday, Indian broadcaster NDTV reported.

The nearly 400 people on board the Vindhyagiri – including the ship’s crew and their visiting families, who were celebrating Navy Day – were successfully evacuated before a massive fire broke out on the vessel some 12 hours later.

A preliminary investigation found that the Nordlake was exiting the harbour as theVindhyagiri was navigating its way in. The Nordlake swerved to avoid another ship and subsequently struck the Vindhyagiri.

INS Vindhyagiri 2682 tons

The Indian navy called the sinking of the Vindhyagiri India’s greatest peacetime casualty, noting that a frigate has never been sunk by a civilian vessel. Built in 1981, the Vindhyagiri suffered extensive damage, but the navy said the ship could possibly be repaired and eventually brought back into service.

The nearly 180-metre-long Nordlake, which flies a Cypriot flag, did not sustain any serious damage. The freighter supports an international crew, and no Germans were on board at the time of the crash.

“We are happy that, to our current understanding, the accident has caused neither environmental harm nor any human casualties,” Peter Rybarczyk, chief executive of the Klaus E. Oldendorff shipping company, told Hamburg broadcaster NDR.

The Director General of Shipping in Mumbai has ordered an inquiry into the collision, NDTV reported, while the navy has also filed a complaint that argues the ship from Cyprus did not follow standard operating procedure.

The Nordlake has a deadweight of 22,450 tons and almost ten times greater than the standard weight of INS Vindhyachal at 2682 tons.

Mumbai harbour after collision: photo DPA

Tags: freighter sinks frigate, Indian Navy, INS Vindhyagiri, Nordlake, Transportation and Logistics

This entry was posted on February 4, 2011 at 11:34 am and is filed under Defense, Germany, India, Ships. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.