A storm is gathering in the deep seas for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC). The top brass of the PSU held a meeting recently after divers and marine crew threatened to go on a strike.The crew have not received their wages for more than a month and many have been on board vessels longer than the prescribed time limits. This despite the fact that the ONGC has paid a huge advance to contractors. This is just the latest of a string of problems for ONGC from its offshore supply vehicles (OSVs).Mismanagement has led to unproductive use of funds according to the recent Comptroller and Auditor General’s report. The report says most of the money was drained due to mismanagement of OSVs — 32 of them owned by the ONGC and 22 hired. When contacted by The Indian Express, ONGC’s Chief, Offshore Logistics, M.K. Bhatta put the total expenditure on the OSVs at Rs 151 crore per year. A majority of the OSVs are in a bad condition and non-functional.The list of damaged vessels is long. Take the case of Sindhu 8 which was towed into Mumbai docks due to engine seizure. ONGC officials said the vessel was damaged when it got entangled in a rope while in operation. This was an accident and damages were recovered from the insurance company. Sindhu 11 sank off the Mumbai harbour in September while undergoing repairs. The repair of both vessels are estimated to cost around Rs 30 crore.Earlier, Sindhu 7 sank while negotiating the main channel off Mumbai Harbour due to a hole in the hull. ONGC’s own records, says the report, show they spent around Rs 19 crore instead of Rs 5 crore on repairs of Sindhu 12. The OSV was engulfed in a fire and is now being considered for scrapping.As many as 16 of the 32 OSVs belonging to ONGC have been handed over to the Shipping Corporation of India for repairs. These vessels were managed by private companies on contract. ‘‘It is true these vessels needed repairs as the same was handled by smaller contractors who grabbed the contract under tendering process quoting very low (figures.) ONGC has already taken action to rectify the lacunae and handed over the contract of half of its fleet to SCI,’’ said Bhatta.
