Damaged passenger ship on way to Andaman Islands expected to reach Chennai port by Aug 8

The passenger vessel of the Andaman administration with 350 passengers which got grounded near Campbell bay off Car Nicobar islands after it hit a boulder suffered minor damages in the internal pipelines in the ship and has since started moving towards Port Blair.

Earlier it was suspected that the boulders had damaged the hull of the ship which meant ship needed to be abandoned for major repairs. Since the damage was of a minor nature, the vessel proceeded to Port Blair on august third. The vessel was on inter-island service between Port Blair and Nancowry when the incident took place. After the accident, five feet of water gushed into the vessel. Submersible pumps were pressed into service to draw out the water from the ship and the vessel got stabilized..

After the fault in the internal pipelines of the ship were rectified the vessel with 350 passengers and crew left for Port Blair and is expected to reach the state capital on August fifth.

The 19 year old vessel is owned and operated by the Andaman state administration. Apart from undertaking inter island transfers, the ship carries passengers from Chennai to Port Blair. The vessels plying to Andaman Islands from Chennai and Kolkata are over two decades old. The voyage between Chennai and Port Blair which used to be completed in three days now takes four days.

Andaman administration sources say it is time that the government buys new ships and operate them in this sector since supplies from the mainland to Andaman Islands is crucial for the country’s security.