After Karachi Port, where ship grounding has become almost a routine, it is now Port Qasim where the ships have started beaching due to what the sources claimed present of some critically hazardous bends in its navigational channel.
According to sources, M/v Cemtex Orient ran aground in PQA channel while sailing out after unloading iron ore at Iron Ore and Coal Berth at around 12:30pm. They said that the ship was grounded because of at least three to four bends in the PQA channel.
"The bends are considered to be very critical as these have long been a source of trouble for the navigating vessels," sources claimed. The PQA management, however, moved swiftly and got the stranded ship re-floated within an hour at around 1:15pm, the sources said. They said PQA's tugs Deebal and Gharo had rescued the vessel while KST Sphere was on its way to tug out the ship.
According to sources, the PQA authorities had planned to remove bends from channels during the Deepening and Widening of Channel project but this important project is still awaiting nod from the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) since September last year. A PQA official, however, denied that any ship had beached at Port Qasim on Saturday, adding that it was part of the propaganda against the fast-developing PQA.
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