CUSTOMS ANOTHER HURDLE IN REMOVAL OF RIVER PRINCESS

PANJIM: The process for removal of River Princess has now encountered the customs ‘hurdle.’ As the ship is a foreign-registered vessel, its scrap would attract customs duty and the authorities need to take immediate steps to address the issue.

As the ship was grounded outside the port area where the customs normally has jurisdiction, the government would now need to notify the area around the vessel as customs zone so as to enable the customs authorities to exercise their jurisdiction over the vessel and enable them to assess the customs duty, said highly placed sources in the government.

The sources further stated that the government also needs to identify an appropriate area which should be barricaded, where the scrap would be stored and also notification of the area as customs zone as per the provisions of the Indian Customs Act.

The government is likely to order a second appraisal of the vessel as regards to the scrap value, said the sources adding that the scrap value given by the first firm which was asked to evaluate it has given the value much below the expectation of the government.

The sources, however, declined to give the amount quoted by the firm saying that it was much below the expectation. The government expects to get at least Rs 20 crore from scrap of the vessel. As per the registration certificate, River Princess was a 30,000 DWT vessel but has now lost substantial weight due to corrosion and breakage, said the sources.

The government has engaged the services of former advocate general, Mr Atmaram Nadkarni, for drafting the contract before entering into it with M/s Arihant Ship Breaking, which has qualified for the award being the lowest bidders having quoted Rs 99 crore for removal of the ship. The contract is likely to be signed in the first week of January 2011.

Meanwhile, the government has sought substantial funds from the Centre to meet the cost of removal of the vessel and a meeting with the Planning Commission officials has been fixed for December 27. The government expects funds to the tune of Rs 60 crore from the central government. (NT)