Paradip: Thirteen years have passed since the Mongolian cargo ship MV Black Rose sank drowned in the Bay of Bengal five kilometre off the Paradip coast September 9, 2009. However, the exact cause of its sinking has remained a mystery till date and its wreckage has not yet been cleared completely from the sea bed. The ship wreckage is a lurking danger for fishermen as well as fishing trawlers, boats and ships. They are likely to meet with accidents after hitting the piles of wreckage of the cargo vessel.
Reports said, September 9, 2009, Mongolian vessel MV Black Rose carrying cargo of 23,847 metric tonne iron ore and 920 metric tonne of furnace oil sank five kilometre off the Paradip coast under mysterious circumstances. It was on a chartered voyage to China. The chief engineer of the vessel, a Ukrainian citizen, lost his life while 26 others on board were rescued. The sinking of the vessel had grabbed newspaper headlines nationally and globally. It triggered a controversy as opposition parties in the state alleged that the vessel was engaged in illegal transportation of iron-ore and other minerals by forging documents. The opposition parties even alleged that MV Black Rose was used to bring iron ore for sponge (iron) plants belonging to some leaders by forging documents. Marine police station had filed a case in this regard.
Later, several cases were lodged with the Crime Branch, and in Calcutta and Orissa High Courts. The Paradip Port Trust (now Authority) had spent over Rs 50 crore to drain out oil and the body of the engineer from the ship. The sinking of the vessel not only became a major political issue in the state, but also was dragged to the Orissa High Court and later, to the Supreme Court. The company which had hired the ship has been blacklisted. In 2018, the then PPT chairperson Rinkesh Ray had recommended CBI investigation into the incident.
However, CBI has not yet started its probe and no attempt to reach out to the Mongolian owner of the MV Black Rose has been made. The sinking of the vessel was initially investigated by the local police and then by the Crime Branch of Odisha Police. It was later taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the exact reason behind the sinking of the cargo ship has not been unraveled and it lies hidden under the waters of Bay of Bengal. Even 13 years after the giant ship met its watery grave in the anchorage zone of the Paradip port, the wreckage is yet to be cleared.
However, neither the state government nor the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) authorities seem to be in a mood to move a proposal to remove residues of the ship from the bed of the Bay of Bengal. It was once said that around Rs 120 crore was required to remove the total wreckage from the sea.