Speculation continues over the cause of a fire last week onboard the VLCC Ada (built 1997) at a Pakistani breakers' yard, while an ongoing investigation is likely to determine whether the country could face another ban on importing tankers for recycling.
The cause of the fire — whether accidental or the result of a breach of safety regulations — is likely to have a huge influence on future regulatory action by the Pakistani government, broking sources said.
Local sources and brokers are already suggesting a number of possible causes of the fire. One is that the yard, known as plot 116, had begun cutting before formal approval had been given by authorities.
Import ban lifted
The Pakistani government has only recently lifted a ban on the import of tankers for demolition, following an earlier fatal fire at Gadani. But since the ban was lifted, approval from government officials has been required before demolition of tankers can commence.
Another explanation that has been put forward is that the fire could have been caused accidentally by something as simple as a discarded cigarette.
Shipbreaking broker Edward McIlvaney suggested that whatever the cause, the incident does not reflect well on Pakistani shipbreakers’ efforts to improve standards to allow tanker demolition to continue in the country.
“The accident would intimate that whilst the vessel had been on the beach pending the approval being granted, there appears to have been little or no clean-up process or dispersal of any residue oils in the vital areas of the vessel," he said.
"The accident is yet another major setback for both the recyclers in Pakistan and the cash buyers, who must once again look to other areas for the disposal of tankers still being held in their various stockpiles of tonnage,” he said in his weekly report.
The Ada was originally sold to Gadani by Germany’s Dr Peters as the 309,000-dwt DS Vada. There were 20 workers onboard when the fire broke out. None were injured in the accident.
