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High drama on Hooghly

Santanu Sanyal

THE recent kidnapping of the master of a foreign ship and the river pilot of Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) on the Hooghly was not an unexpected development. Though the CPT top brass described the incident as ``unprecedented'', they had been receiving repo rts for several days before the incident, that armed men, allegedly with the backing of some political parties, had been obstructing vessels in the river.

Ships of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation, Bangladeshi vessels and an oil barge belonging to a local company were obstructed on the Hooghly. The port authorities dismissed the complaints, brought to them, as a law and order issue and advise d the agencies concerned to take up the matter with the local police.

But when the groups intensified their operations and targeted foreign vessels, the port authorities pressed the panic button. The action, however, came too late for M. V. Jubilee, carrying the Panamian flag and nearly 4,500 tonnes of logs, which was chas ed, stopped and forced to anchor at a place where vessels are not supposed to. The armed men, according to reports, came in two vessels, Sarathi and Godapani, boarded M. V. Jubilee and whisked away at gun point the ship's captain, a Myanmar national, and the CPT river pilot. They demanded that the cargo be unloaded at Diamond Harbour anchorage ``to ensure jobs for the local people''. The cargo was not looted.

The miscreants also targeted two other ships -- the Port Blair-bound passenger vessel Akbar and an incoming edible oil vessel. They let Akbar pass as they must have sensed that detaining it might backfire on them as passengers may not take thi ngs lightly. The edible oil vessel escaped, thanks to the promptness of its master and the pilot. Meanwhile, the CPT Chairman brought the abduction incident to the attention of top officials in the State administration, including the Inspector-General of Police. The police rescued the kidnapped persons and cleared the vessel of the miscreants. But the vessel was kept under police protection for a day following an ebb tide. It was later escorted by the police to Calcutta D ock System (CDS).

As a safety measure, the CPT has now provided a rivercraft to the State police to escort incoming and outgoing ships over the 20-km stretch between Diamond Harbour and Roychowk. This system will continue ``till the confidence of all concerned is restored ''. Eight people have been arrested in this connection.

But the question is the sudden demand for continuation of unloading cargo at the Diamond Harbour anchorage? In its bid to attract traffic, the CPT announced some time ago that shippers and shipping lines, if they so desired, could unload cargo at suitabl e places even outside the dock systems. Accordingly, from 1998, unloading of logs and other cargo began at Diamond Harbour and Saugor anchorage which, though located on the river, were outside the two dock systems of the CPT -- that is, the CDS and Hal dia.

But the increasing unloading cargo outside the CDS dealt a severe blow to the Calcutta Dock Labour Board (CDLB), which started losing revenue of an average Rs 3.5 crore annually. This is because the CDLB can earn its revenue only from operation within th e CDS. Since the CDLB Chairman holds the same post at the CPT, its demand for ban on cargo unloading at the anchorage was immediately conceded by the port authorities.

Meanwhile, the Centre's Inspectorate of Dock Safety has instructed the CPT not to resume midstream handling of cargo as it is unsafe, risky and against dock safety rules. The cargo should be handled only within the dock systems, meaning unloading at Diam ond Harbour anchorage will not be permitted. Besides, the kidnapping incident violated the relevant international maritime laws on maintenance of safety in the shipping channel leading to the port.