Capt Saroor Ali revels in sea with that ‘sinking’ feeling!

 

 

 

By Vikas Vaidya

THE sinking of the ‘Phoenix’ gave Captain Saroor Ali a deep satisfaction. A seafarer of over 23 years, he was accustomed to such situations. There was nothing fishy. It was his job, being the East Coast executive Manager of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), at one of the biggest ship breaking yards of the world in South Africa. It was another feather in the cap of this Nagpurian.
Capt Ali has remained a man for sea for most part of his life. He is in and around the sea for almost 40 days, away from his home in Durban. After doing initial education at Nagpur, Capt Ali did his graduation from West Bengal and then with an aim to join Merchant Navy did LLM in Marine Law and appeared for Entrance. He passed the entrance and went to South Africa. However, he never lost touch with Nagpur.
Though Capt Ali stays in Durban he made it a point to admit his son, Sahil, to Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management in the city. Capt Ali is on a visit to his brother Noor Ali, Chairman and Managing Director of Crystal Group of Industries. The family has an ancestral house in Nagpur. ‘The Hitavada’ caught up with Capt Ali who shared his experiences in shipbreaking with SAMSA.
Ships that get rusted or in a very dilapidated condition are handed over to South African Maritime Safety Authority. The SAMSA starts its procedure before sinking the ship. Capt Ali said the procedure is very risky and difficult.
“Care is to be taken to remove substances like oil which can pollute sea. This is very long and tedious procedure and involves huge money,” he said.
Capt Ali said breaking a ship could cost upto 250 million dollars. “Because of this expenditure, very few countries do that. This might be the reason for India to not take up ship-breaking or sinking work,” he said.
Elaborating the process, Capt Ali said, “When the ship is pulled, it needs to be done very carefully. In case of ‘Phoenix’, if the ship was pulled from the rocks, the rocks could have ripped open the keel. The tugs pulling the ship had to pull at particular angles and from certain points”.
“Our major concern is pollution caused by oil and how to refloat the vessel and get it away from the shore. The costliest affair is to fly salvage crews by helicopter daily. Most of the time we prefer to construct suspension bridges from the shore to the ship. This work is full of risks,” Capt Ali said.
Capt Ali and his SAMSA team have endured many such tasks that tested their skills.
“I distinctly remember, in one case of submerging of a ship while awaiting the process, the weather conditions deteriorated considerably and the vessel started dragging its anchor. Despite the most valiant attempts by the crew to reconnect the tow, the vessel grounded at Salt Rock north of Durban morning. A second tug was also despatched to the scene. The 15 Indian crew members were airlifted, by a South African Air Force helicopter, off the vessel and were landed ashore in Durban and at the same time a salvage crew was landed on board the vessel to assess whether it can be re-floated or the oil should be pumped ashore. We managed it,” he said with a glee.
Another danger to the rescue operation, according to Capt Ali, is a fuel spill. “The region has very important ecosystems which may get damaged. We have to take care of all these factors, Captain Ali said.
Capt Ali said the work is pretty exciting and full of such adventures. After a brief halt in the city that he is very fond of, the seafarer will again get accustomed to the ‘the sinking feeling’.
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