By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 8 -- Contractor SMIT Salvage BV has completely removed the wrecked Tasman Spirit tanker from the shipping channel leading to the Port of Karachi, making navigation safer into and out of the port, which handles about 90% of Pakistan's seaboard trade.
The tanker, owned by Assimina Maritime Ltd. of Malta and carrying 67, 000 tonnes of oil, ran aground in the channel July 27, 2003, foundered, and later broke in two, polluting 16 km of coastal belt with at least 12,000 tonnes of crude (OGJ Online, Aug. 25, 2003).
Crewmen in custody
Pakistan, which lodged a formal complaint with the International Maritime Organization, claiming an initial payment of $200,000 in damages from Assimina Maritime, arrested the seven rescued crewmen (OGJ Online, Aug. 14, 2003) and a Greek salvage master, all of whom remain in Pakistani custody in Sindh Province facing criminal charges filed by the Karachi Port Trust. Efforts to free the men have been unsuccessful to date, and the vessel's liability insurers the American Club, which contend the charges are unsubstantiated, refuse to pay compensation until their release and repatriation.
"The Club have cleaned up the oil, removed the wreck and offered to pay compensation in accordance with international standards—it is now up to Pakistan to release the 'Karachi Eight,'" said Michael J. Mitchell, the insurer's general counsel.