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At about 21:30 pm local time on April 13th, a Suezmax tanker "MT MAHARAJA AGRASEN" carrying 98,000 tons of crude oil moored on the coast of Mumbai had a fire explosion. At that time, there were more than 39 crew members on board. The ship's chief engineer was killed and two other crew members were severely burned.
When the fire broke out, the ship was unloading crude oil at the port and then causing an explosion. However, due to the timely alarm, the crew evacuated and the rescue force concentrated on controlling the fire. Unfortunately, the 54-year-old chief engineer Prakash Patyal was at the ship. Unfortunately, the accident was killed. Subhash Ravthan (31) and Intern (Tejo Charuvilayal, 26) were severely burned and were taken to Masina Hospital for treatment. They are very seriously injured and are still in the intensive care unit.
Subhash Ravthan and Intern (Tejo Charuvilayal) who were seriously injured in the accident
The younger brother of the injured intern said: "At the moment he can't talk, his face and other parts of his body are covered with bandages," said Rafhan's brother Sumit.
The cause of the fire was initially determined to have occurred in the engine compartment and then spread to the upper building and surrounded the superstructure. "The reason is not clear why this happened, but according to our preliminary understanding, the initial cause of the fire is likely to be caused by a short circuit, in which a serious fire broke out in the engine compartment," a Mumbai maritime authority official said.
The owner of the tanker is the Indian shipping company SCI, which hangs the Indian flag.
"MT MAHARAJA AGRASEN" round of fire
A spokesperson for the Indian shipping company SCI after the accident said: "MT Maharaja Agrasen was exploding during the unloading of crude oil at Port 4 in Mumbai. When the flash fire occurred, the three crew members affected were working in the inert chamber. The long deaths made us very sad, and the situation of the other two injured people is slowly stabilizing."
The tanker was loaded with crude oil from Saudi Arabia to India, arrived near Jawahar Dweep (an island near the Mumbai coast) on April 9 and stopped near No. 4 at around 7:30 pm on April 13 to prepare for the tanker. Unload crude oil. Being unloaded, the fire broke out and caused an explosion.
After the fire, the tanker was withdrawn from the port of Mumbai and anchored at the outer anchorage 15 nautical miles away from the port until 10:00 am yesterday (April 16). The tank was still parked there and there were no rescue boats and tugs nearby. This means that the fire situation in this round has been controlled. At present, the relevant parties are assessing the degree of fire and damage to the ship. The details are not clear.
Nishith Mishra, the local police chief (Southern District), said that the accidental death record (ADR) had been registered in the case and investigations had been initiated to confirm whether it was a mechanical failure or an accident.
The Indian maritime sector is concerned that the accident will lead to oil spills at sea and further investigations are underway to avoid future pollution incidents. This is the second such fire in India this year.
