Asia/Pacific News
Barge Reportedly Barred from Indian Port After Allegations of Stolen Bunkers
A bunker barge was allegedly prevented from offloading stolen oil at India's Paradip Port amid a dispute between former partners in the company that owns the vessel, Indian newspaper The Hindu reports.
The barge, the Atlas Carrier, was said to be carrying 100 tonnes of oil.
Ananth Reddy, managing director of Atlas Offshore Pvt. Ltd. (Atlas Offshore), which owns the ship, said the Atlas Carrier was under control of "rogue elements."
"We denied permission to the barge to land in our area recently on knowing the fact that the vessel with the name Atlas Carrier was carrying stolen oil," a port official said.
However, Akbar H. Khan, identified as an official Atlas Offshore spokesperson, told another newspaper, New India Express, that the barge had no oil aboard and was waiting for a jetty at the port to be opened so it could dispose of sludge and bilge water.
The report added that Atlas Carrier has operated in the port for the last four months and "has all the valid licences and permissions to supply bunkers."
Atlas Offshore is based in Kakinada and operates a fleet of service vessels to support the Indian marine and offshore oil and gas industry, according to its website.
