File picture of the sunken Mongolian ship off Paradip coast

Paradip, July 24: The wreckage of the Mongolian ship, MV Black Rose, which had sunk off Paradip coast on September 8, 2009, went beneath the sea water level, posing threat to navigators.

Steps to salvage the ship’s debris had failed to take off as the process is stuck in court proceedings.

Paradip Port Trust officials believed that the debris had gone beneath the sea water level and this would endanger the movement of ships, vessels and crafts.

The upper portion of the sunken ship was visible from the day of it got capsized. However, it has now gone out of sight since past one week. According to a section of traditional marine fishermen, scrap traders have dismantled the ship.

“The scrap mafias have vandalised the ship. The crew of trawls and fishing vessels have informed us regarding suspicious movements of crafts near it,” said Narayan Haldar, general secretary of the Odisha Traditional Fish Workers’ Union.

“The shipwreck site has been declared as ‘no-navigation’ zone. The upper portion of the ship might have gone under sea water due to tidal movement,” said deputy conservator of the port trust Gouri Prasad Biswal.

The wreckage salvage operation is still a non-starter as the Union shipping ministry is yet to release funds required for it, said an official.

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

The cost of clearing off the debris is being estimated at Rs 120 crore, while scrap materials accrued from the debris would hardly fetch Rs 4 crore in return. The port trust has submitted a report in this regard to the shipping ministry, he said.