Paradip, Sept 9: The crime branch has sought Interpol’s assistance to nab the owner of the Mongolian ship that sank off the coast here three years ago.

On September 8, 2009, Mongolian ship MV Black Rose had sunk off Paradip coast triggering a fear of oil spill that could have endangered marine lives. However, the crude furnace oil stored in the ship was extracted on time, staving off a potential disaster to marine ecology.

Abiding by legal formalities, the crime branch has recently dispatched an order given by the court of first-class judicial magistrate, Kujang, to the Interpol.

“As the Mongolian ship that sank near Paradip was a rogue vessel with fake documents and forged insurance papers, it had infringed various international maritime legal provisions and restrictions. So, we had urged the Union home ministry to take up the matter with the Interpol so that the Singapore-based ship owner could be arrested. The home ministry recently accorded sanction to our proposal. The Interpol has been requested to book the international maritime law offender,” said Santosh Kumar Pattnaik, deputy superintendent of police, crime branch.

However, the crime branch is yet to receive any communication from the Interpol.

The port trust’s traffic wing, which oversees legalities and proprieties of cargo operations, had come under scanner with officials facing accusation of promoting illegal ore export activities.

Kashinath Mishra, chief vigilance officer of the port trust, said: “The alleged lapses had been looked into by the port’s vigilance wing. The port’s traffic manager had been placed under suspension for perpetrating irregularities.”

The operation for salvaging the wreckage of MV Black Rose has remained a non-starter as the Union shipping ministry is yet to release funds required for it. The cost of clearing the debris is being estimated at Rs 120 crore, while scrap materials accrued from the debris would hardly fetch Rs 4 crore in return.

“Following a high court order, the administration has requested the Union shipping ministry for sanction of funds for salvage operation,” said additional district magistrate, Paradip, Surajit Das.

“A morphological and hydrological study has been conducted to ascertain the possible impact of the stranded sunken ship. The study has ruled out any adverse effect of the gigantic object on the coastal ecology. Besides, it is not posing itself as a stumbling block for hassle-free movement of ships as it is located at about 4 nautical miles away from the port area,” said Gouri Kumar Biswal, deputy conservator of the port.