PARTH

About:

• Within minutes of receiving the distress call, the Indian Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Mumbai swung into action.
• Parth was a 102 metres-long vessel that was made in 2008. It was carrying 3,911 metric tonnes of Asphalt Bitumen and travelling from New Mangalore in Karnataka to Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman in the UAE when there was an ingress of water in one of its compartments.

Is the sinking of the vessel an environmental hazard?

• The fishing ministry has cautioned fishermen from Malvan to Deogad in Maharashtra to look for marine pollution as the vessel was carrying a lot of fuel. Besides, bitumen is also a substance hazardous to ocean life.
• The shipping ministry said it will now put markers on charts for all vessels to be alert in the area about the sunk vessel.