|
|
Change Your Life! |
Sangu
gas pipeline is at high risk |
|
News |
May 18, 2000
Dhaka,
May 17 (UNB) – The Sangu gas pipeline is at high risk as a sinking
vessel was beached some 70 meters south of the 20-inch pipeline at
Chilimpur of Sitakunda in Chittagong. “This
was a high-risk decision… every effort should be made to remove the
vessel from its present position,” a field officer of Sangu told UNB. The
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) said it was not possible to remove the
3531-ton vessel from its present position, as it had already leaned by 25
degree, and was likely to lean by 50 degree soon. It said the problem
could be averted had Sangu authority marked their pipeline route earlier. The
CPA admitted that it did neither have the logistics and expertise, nor the
court’s permission to salvage the vessel, which is now under the
jurisdiction of the Admiralty Division of the High Court. The
port authority, however, overruled the possibility of the vessel moving
closer to the pipeline, saying it is unlikely that the vessel would move
from its present position. But
the Sangu field authority was not convinced with the observation and it
has made further appeal for measures to remove the vessel from the present
position before the onset of monsoon. About
25 per cent of Bangladesh’s current gas production is being produced at
Chilimpur Gas processing Plant. The
port authority removed the Romanian flag-carrier MV Revenge, abandoned by
the owners and crew following a legal suit, to the outer anchorage by tugs
when the vessel faced sinking at the entry of the port channel. It
was beached at the Chilimpur riverbed on April 3, close to the pipeline
that links offshore Sangu Gas Field with Chilimpur Gas Processing Plant. The
vessel faced a legal claim suit with the Admiralty Court and has been
seized since August 19 last year. Scraping
the vessels remains the only option for the port authority, but they are
unable to go for it unless the Court cleared it. The
vessel entails a number of outstanding liabilities and it is learnt that
its owners have abandoned any claim on it. Port sources said the current
liabilities exceed the scrap value of the vessel. |