Will Shanghai’s Cargo Ship Replay Tasman Spirit Oil Spill Fuss?

A stranded cargo ship near Karachi’s Seaview Beach has alarmed the locals as they are recalling it with the oil spill incident of Tasman Spirit nearly two decades ago.

According to sources, the M.V. Heng Tong 77 was heading to Turkey from Shanghai but it beached at the Karachi coast near Seaview Beach after its anchor was broken.

To one’s surprise, the cargo ship contains oil in thousands of liters and many people are concerned if an oil spill incident like the Tasman Spirit would occur again.

Back in 2003, an oil tanker owned by Maltese company Assimina Maritime namely the Tasman Spirit spilled nearly 27,000 tons of oil into the Arabian Sea just near the Karachi Port.

کراچی میں ہینگ ٹینگ 77 نامی بحری جہاز سی ویو کی حدود میں پھنس گیا
بحری جہازہانگ کانگ سےکراچی کی حدودمیں پہنچاتھا pic.twitter.com/sEQQ22vIHa

— M.Salahuddin (@salahary) July 21, 2021

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Commenting on the latest situation, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) officials said the ship was originally anchored at their territorial waters for a crew change.

By the time the vessel informed KPT of her drifting, it was already in shallow waters.

PMSA was also alerted by KPT immediately.

KPT Navigation Channel has not been impacted.

Furthermore, KPT Marine Pollution staff is closely monitoring the situation.

— KPTOfficial (@official_kpt) July 21, 2021

“It never entered or sailed in the KPT Harbor. Due to extremely rough weather, the vessel lost anchors and started drifting towards shallow waters in the early hours of the morning”, read the statement.

They added that since Pakistan isn’t fully equipped to free ships out of shallow water, they have to wait till a foreign company rescues it against a healthy fee.

Upon failing to provide any assistance to the ship, the KPT officials have already alerted the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PSMA) in this regard.