NAGAPATTINAM:A private dredger got stuck on the shores of Kodiakkarai in the district after strong winds and a rough sea hit it hard in the wee hours of Monday. The vessel was on its way to Mandapam in Rameswaram district from Chennai.
On receiving information, a police team led by Vedaranyam range Deputy Superintendent of Police Balu and Marine Police arrived at the spot and enquired the crew in the dredger.
“The dredger, owned by Mumbai-based marine infrastructure company Enrich Shreya, was on its way to Visakhapatnam. It reached Mandapam last month. While the dredger’s desilting equipment was under repair last month, the vessel was taken to Chennai on August 15. After that, it was again on its way to Mandapam. While it reached Kodiakkarai, the wind and choppy seas made it drift towards the shore,” said a senior police official in Vedaranyam Police Station.
The vessel got stuck between Sellakkanni Vaikkal and Pachaikkannu Theevu near Kodiakkarai. Some fishermen informed the local police, who then visited the spot.“We told the crew to alight, but they said they had enough amenities and food items that could last a month. Also, they said a bigger dredger was on its way from Visakhapatnam to retrieve the 336-tonne dredger,” police sources said.
Bharath Mithilesh Tagore (27) was the captain of the dredger, while other members were identified as engine driver Manmohan V S Kumar (25), handler Chandra Shekar (31) and oiler Chandra Roy Mohan (21). The deck heads were Govind Lal Yadav (25), Marithi Paswan (21), Manihar Yadav (31) and Harihar Sai Kishore (21), while the cook was identified as Ruthesh (25) .This is not the first incident involving a dredger. Three years ago, a dredger from Visakhapatnam got stuck here.