Exactly 75 days after Den Den sank off the coast of Thannirbavi near here, a ship belonging to St Vincent Islands listed barely 500 metres from the sunken ship due to a technial snag.

A tug continued to ‘pull’ the tilted ship ‘Cheng Le Men’ belonging to St Vincent Islands (one of the Caribbean islands) till late night. But in vain.

‘Cheng Le Men’ carrying about 16,100 MT of iron ore and 28 crew on board had left New Mangalore Port to China on Thursday at 11 am.

However, unfortunately even before she sailed a few nautical miles, it started drifting towards the shore, said to be due to faulty loading. After it was listed barely half km from Den Den (which sank on June 23), ‘Cheng Le Men’ tilted about 15 degrees, according to officials.

Though the tug from New Mangalore Port and Coast Guard personnel besides the authorities from the district administration tried their level best to ‘pull’ the ship, they could not succeed till late night.

Unlike Den Den (which could not be saved from sinking due to bad weather and high tides), the rescue teams are waiting for the high tide to put the ship back into track.

The officials hope that the high tides and the tug may help the ship put back into track the ship.

All the 28 crew are said to be from China and all of them are still on board the ship. The Coast Guard vessel is ready to rescue them, in case of any emergency, sources said.

Thousands of people

As the news of another ship drifting towards the shore spread from word to word, thousands of people started moving towards Thannirbavi.

While many of them were witness to the sinking of Den Den, for many others it was a first time experience.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Deputy Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said that the district administration is ready with all equipment and personnel.