P.V.K. Mohan Committee Submitted Report to the Shipping Ministry

Capt. P.V.K. Mohan Committee, constituted by the Shipping Ministry in December 2010 submitted its report in January 2011. The committee in the report recommended banning the entry of over 25-year-old ships in Indian ports. The report included 18 suggestions relevant for all major ports including Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru ports and the balance policy initiatives to be taken by the ministry. The recommendations as included in the report are as follows:

•    The committee recommended constitution of an independent casualty investigation agency to report directly to the Shipping Ministry as well as setting up a suitable authority on the line of the UK's SOSREP (Secretary of State Representative). The authority would be given overriding powers to ensure proper co-ordination among various agencies at the time of casualty.
•    The committee suggested restructuring the decision-making hierarchy in various ports to tackle emergency such as collision. It also mentioned that the scope of the Navigational Safety Committee in Ports to mandatorily cover all major ports must be extended.
•    The committee opined that the authorities of the Mumbai Port Trust and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust must upgrade the MoU signed by them more than 20 years ago.
•    The committee is in favour of a separate VTS (vessel traffic system) authority to be formed under the Mumbai Port Trust to provide pilot service along the entire stretch of the channel. The manning, training and qualification of operators and supervisors of VTS should be upgraded. Also the committee report suggested that the VTS system must be modernised to have features such as guard-range, and the navigational safety in these two ports must be audited by an external oversight body. The pilots should be picked up from a common pool and work under a unified command.
•    The committee proposed widening of the channel and pilot boarding areas should be expedited. Navigational aids such as fairway and navigation buoys and transit lights should be installed without delay.
•    The committee also opined that the Certificate of Competence of the Masters and the Documents of Compliance issued to Technical Managers of the ships involved in the collision should be suspended.

The commiittee report recommended that all ports should include voluntary review of navigational safety by the Navigational Safety Committee. Review of contingency planning in crisis management plan and installation of Tier-I pollution control equipment were also suggested.

Capt. P.V.K. Mohan Committee also comprised K. Raghuramaiah, former Chairman of Paradip Port Trust and Capt. Y. Sharma, Head, International Maritime Training Centre. The commiittee was set up to examine the inquiry report on the collision between two ships, MSC Chitra and Khalijia III, near Mumbai port on 7 August 2010.