KARACHI: Pakistani authorities said on Sunday they are waiting for salvage tugs to arrive and immediately start a rescue operation for a giant cargo ship stuck off the coast of Karachi as oil leakage is feared.
The MV Heng Tong 77, a cargo ship with a capacity of 3,600 dead weight tonnage, was on the way from Shanghai to Turkey, as it anchored in Pakistan’s territorial waters for a crew change. According to the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), it lost its anchors due to extreme weather and started drifting toward shallow waters in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
While the maritime affairs ministry started an inquiry into the incident, the ship stuck at Karachi’s Seaview beach. The KTP's pollution control team on Sunday sealed off a part of the beach as the vessel is carrying 118 tons of bunker fuel.
"We hope to start operation as soon as the rescue tugs arrive. It may start today (Sunday) or sometime tomorrow," Shariq Amin, KPT spokesman told Arab News. "At the moment groundwork is underway to thwart any untoward incident of oil leakage."
KPT Marine Pollution Control Rapid Response team is monitoring the site non-stop, he said, adding that the Panama-flagged vessel's owner has sent an expert from China to help with the rescue operation, which must correspond tide timings.
While there are no signs of leakage from the vessel, the Pakistan Navy said on Saturday it had been acting under a pollution contingency plan.
“Commander Coast has been nominated as On Scene Commander (OSC) to supervise the on-site preparations to contain risk of pollution in coordination with PMSA (Pakistan Maritime Security Agency) and KPT," the navy said in a statement.
"Anti-pollution barrier has been deployed by KPT around the grounded ship and other response elements are being mustered in vicinity. MV Heng Tong 77 is carrying 118 tons of bunker fuel which is a source of immediate concern."
Pakistan waiting for rescue tugs as leakage feared from giant ship stuck off Karachi
https://arab.news/mc49w
Pakistan waiting for rescue tugs as leakage feared from giant ship stuck off Karachi
- Vessel lost anchors due to extreme weather and drifted towards shallow water on Wednesday morning
- MV Heng Tong 77 in is carrying 118 tons of bunker fuel which authorities say is a source of immediate concern
Bodies of Pakistani nationals who died attempting illegal migration repatriated from Iran
- Pakistan’s envoy in Tehran warns youth against human smugglers after deaths in harsh weather
- Pakistan reported sharp fall in illegal migration to Europe this year amid nationwide crackdown
ISLAMABAD: The bodies of two Pakistani nationals, who died near the Iran-Türkiye border after attempting to travel illegally to Europe, have been repatriated to the country, said a senior diplomat on Tuesday, reiterating warnings against human smugglers amid an intensified crackdown by authorities in Islamabad on illegal migration.
Pakistan says it has stepped up action against illegal immigration and human trafficking in recent years, reporting a 47% drop in illegal migration to Europe this year and the arrest of more than 1,700 suspected human smugglers, according to official figures.
However, people continue to attempt dangerous irregular journeys in search of work and better economic opportunities abroad.
“The mortal remains of Pakistani nationals Mr. Armanullah s/o Gul Rahman and Mr. Ihtasham s/o Mukhtar Gul, both residents of Nowshera, have been repatriated to Pakistan through Taftan border earlier today,” Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said in a post on social media platform X. “Both had fallen victim to the greed of human smugglers and lost their lives in extremely harsh weather conditions near Iran’s border with Turkiye.”
“I once again request the youth back home not to be trapped by human smugglers and instead follow the legal path to travel abroad,” he added, thanking the government of the Balochistan province in Pakistan for arranging the transportation of the bodies and offering condolences to the victims’ families.
The issue illegal immigration has drawn heightened scrutiny since 2023, when hundreds of people, including Pakistani nationals, died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in an overcrowded vessel that sank off the Greek coast, prompting Islamabad to launch nationwide investigations into human smuggling and trafficking networks.
Authorities have since arrested Pakistani and foreign nationals at airports with forged travel documents, highlighting the scale of document fraud linked to illegal departures.
In September, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) released a list of more than 100 of Pakistan’s “most wanted” human smugglers and identified major trafficking hubs across Punjab province and the capital, Islamabad.
Earlier this month, Pakistan announced plans to roll out an artificial intelligence-based immigration screening system at Islamabad airport from January, aimed at detecting forged documents and preventing illegal travel abroad, as part of broader efforts to curb human smuggling and unauthorized migration.
