Three weeks on,Wisdom back on high seas

Deregistered cargo ship MV Wisdom finally bid adieu to Mumbai on Saturday,over three weeks after it ran aground on Juhu Beach after the rope connecting it to its towing vessel snapped.

The operation was conducted around 12.45 pm by a Singapore-based salvage company SMIT International,which was able to refloat it using two powerful tugboats,the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said. An emergency towing vessel SMIT Lumba also helped refloat the vessel during the spring tide window assisted by Indian-owned GREATSHIP Ashmi. Both had a bollard pull of 80 tonnes,which was enough to successfully refloat Wisdom.

The Mumbai Suburban District Collector,Bandra East,provided assistance including manpower and excavator during the procedure. The area was cordoned off. Wisdom is now headed to the outer anchorage area of Mumbai,following which it will be towed to Alang,Gujarat where it will be turned into scrap as soon as possible.

The ship had become the centre of attraction on Mumbais western seafront,with locals and tourists alike thronging the beach just to get a glimpse of this freighter. Its size,the mystery around it and its closeness to the beach were the major crowd-pulling factors. Hawkers and stall owners too had a field day doing brisk business amid the spectacle.

However,this frenzy spelt tragedy for some. Incidents of people venturing dangerously close to the ship occurred everyday despite police warnings and it eventually claimed three lives besides many near-drownings. Police also had found it difficult to contain the crowds.

There were some concerns about its environmental impact but these were few and far between since it had almost no fuel and no cargo on board. This was the third attempt to refloat the cargo ship. Earlier efforts had failed as the boat could only be turned by four-five degrees from its position,of the 40 degrees required to pull it deeper into the sea.

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