The fatal explosion in a ship undergoing repair at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) claimed five lives. Also consigned to the flames was CSL’s accident-free run of more than two decades, the last accident at the Shipyard being way back in 1994. The CSL was quick to announce fire-fighting measures: its CMD Madhu S Nair promptly declared an ex-gratia of `10 lakh for the kin of the deceased while treatment expenses of the injured have been taken over by the PSU. Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari has asked the Shipyard to initiate an immediate inquiry into the incident.
The tragedy occurred reportedly following a leakage of acetylene on an under-repair ONGC drillship ‘Sagar Bhushan’ at the Shipyard. However, the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), under the Ministry of Shipping, tasked to inquire into the mishap, said on Thursday it will be “premature and prejudiced” to make any conclusions on the exact cause of the incident or to attribute safety lapses to any agency at this stage. The MMD will be focusing on the safety management systems, procedures, and safe-working practices to be followed by the ship and its management, irrespective of the shipyard where such repairs are undertaken.
Initially, the Shipyard was reluctant to share the details of the fire. Perhaps, this may be because it is yet to fully come out of the government-owned mindset. It is another matter that the PSU shipmaker is now a public-listed company after its blockbuster IPO last year. It is accountable not just to the government but also to the shareholders. The public is yet to be apprised about the extent of financial losses caused to the Shipyard due to the mishap. Clearly, the investing public would be more at ease if the Shipyard takes an informed decision to make a clean breast of its negatives. But then how many business houses in India can truly claim to be fundamentally so transparent–financially or operationally?