Arcadia suspends search for bodies

July 10: After using nearly 30 divers to conduct search and salvage operations, the Arcadia shipping company has finally called off the sea...

July 10: After using nearly 30 divers to conduct search and salvage operations, the Arcadia shipping company has finally called off the search for the bodies and is now concentrating on establishing the cause of the tragedy.

The cargo ship MV Arcadia Pride sank in rough weather 7 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast on June 19. Nine persons were rescued, 6 bodies were recovered, while 18 crew members are still missing and feared dead.

“Until this week, we were mainly trying to recover bodies so that the process of issuing death certificates could be expedited,” an Arcadia official said. Diving operations conducted in extreme weather and underwater currents were unsuccessful in extracting more bodies as visibility was down to barely six inches at the site of the wreck.

Story continues below this ad

While all diving operations ceased last Saturday, unconfirmed reports said that divers had detected dents in the side of the sunken ship. “We have received six reports of bodies being washed ashore around the city in the last 2 weeks…2 were of crew members,” a senior Arcadia official said.

Two bodies were recovered soon after the disaster. The body of Second Engineer S S Samant washed ashore at Palghar a fortnight ago. The decomposed body was identified from the boiler suit and safety shoes the engineer wore.

The company has cleared outstanding dues of over Rs 10 lakh of all the crew members. Compensation will be paid once all the missing crew are declared `missing but presumed dead.’

The company has narrowed down to two possible causes of the tragedy. “The ship could have either scraped an unmarked wreck on the seabed or it could have toppled over due to `synchronised rolling’ or when the vessel starts rocking uncontrollably and is thrown off balance,” said Vinay Malani, Chief Officer of the ill-fated ship.