Black Rose discovery triggers investigation

Discovery of a forged P&I document on Black Rose, a Mongolian bulker that sank in the Bay of Bengal on 9 September, has prompted a major investigation. The loss of the vessel resulted in the death of a crew member. Just days after the vessel capsized in rough seas near the port of Paradip, the vessel's owner, Pacmar Shipping, and its P&I Club confirmed that the certificate had been issued on a sister vessel.

Until April, the 37,657dwt bulker was registered with South of England P&I Club. However, club director Neil Bell told SASI that "Pacmar decided not to renew it, as they said they were sending the ship for scrapping. The company then used the certificate of another ship they registered with us, Toros Pearl, and cannibalised it fraudulently to insure Black Rose."

The club reported the incident to Paradip Port Trust (PPT) and the director-general of the New Delhi-based Indian Ports Association. Pacmar later confirmed to SASI that the bulker's P&I membership was out of date, adding that its local representative was in "close contact" with the Indian port authorities. "Fortunately, incidents like this don't happen very often and it is up to port authorities to be more stringent over their certificate-checking. We only get to hear about a problem like this if there is an accident, like a ship sinking," said Bell.

"The attitude of the ship's owner is a sorry tale and we are doing everything we can protect the ship and its crew's position in the future," he said of the sinking, in which Black Rose's chief engineer was killed. "We've given notice to the company and told them we will no longer register Toros Pearl," said Bell.

Until recently Pacmar Shipping owned and operated five bulkers built between 1978 and 1984. Three of these vessels have since been broken up, leaving the 36,249dwt Toros Pearl as the only vessel in its fleet.

"I don't know whether the forged P&I document had anything to do with the sinking," said Karl Lumbers, loss prevention director of the UK P&I Club. "It is very difficult to forge a P&I document and hopefully this is a one-off. Our inspectors check at least 500 ships a year and although we do spot-checks all the time, it is possible that a document like this could slip through the system, though I hope our own member companies don't alter documents." He added that the Indian port authorities were rigorous in checking and inspecting documents, which made the Black Rose forgery so surprising.

In early October, port authorities' efforts to plug possible leaks in the bulker were hindered by bad weather. Environmentalists were alarmed about the potential impact of a major spill from the vessel in such ecologically sensitive waters. "Greenpeace remains concerned about the spill that occurred 5-6km off Paradip port," Sanjiv Gopal, of Greenpeace India, told SASI. "The port authorities said 900 tonnes of oil remain inside the ship, but there have been small spills." Biplav Kumar, deputy chairman of PPT, told SASI that the trust would soon be awarding a contract for the transfer of the oil. He said he was worried that PPT would be left footing the Black Rose salvage bill, because the owner was abandoning its responsibilities.

The UK P&I Club recently issued a bulletin about iron ore shipments to highlight the "increasing number of problems concerning the shipment of iron ore fines from the west coast of India". Despite monsoons, the trade had "steadily increased" over the past two months, it said. The bulletin noted that when iron ore fines are loaded in the rain or left uncovered on the quayside they absorb "significant amounts of water and could liquefy which would create problems for the vessel".

Shippers of cargoes that are prone to liquefying must report their transportable moisture limit (TML) to carriers, the UK P&I Club added. Recently, several ships had exceeded their TMLs, forcing them to return to port with 20°-plus lists. "This kind of activity presents a highly dangerous situation to the vessel," the club said. "If a master thinks his cargo is too wet he should contact the local port's P&I correspondent," Lumbers told SASI.