An Indian oil tanker that suffered damage in an explosion during a voyage through the Sea of Oman in August has docked at the ship repair yard of Oman Drydock Company (ODC) in Duqm for major repairs, according to the state-owned yard.
MT Desh Vaibhav, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) owned by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) — the country’s largest shipping firm — arrived at the Duqm yard recently for intensive repairs involving some 3,500 tonnes of steel work.
“This success is an outcome of the new executive management and marketing efforts to win ODC clients’ trust and attract more customers,” said Oman Drydock in a recent tweet.
The 316,000 DWT Desh Vaibhav reported an explosion and fire as the vessel was en route to Fujairah (UAE) from the Jamnagar Terminal on India’s west coast on August 14, 2018. The blast originated in one of the tanker’s cargo holds.
The blaze was extinguished sometime thereafter, but the explosion left three crewmembers injured, one of whom had to the airlifted to a hospital in Muscat for treatment.
MV Desh Vaibhav is the latest in a string of dry-dockings by international merchant and naval ships calling at the Duqm ship repair yard in recent weeks.
Among the vessels calling at the yard for maintenance and repairs over the past two months are the Greek bulk carrier Parea owned by Eastern Mediterranean MTME-LIE, Turkish bulk carrier Ince Akdeniz owned by Ince Denizcilik ve Ticaret AS, crude oil tanker Bowfin of Prime Marine Management (Greece), crude tanker Milos from Kyklades Maritime Corporation (also of Greece), oil tanker Olympic Legend from Springfield Shipping Company, and the crude oil tanker Manah owned by Oman Shipping Company.
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