All crew members on board were rescued. Karma Sonam Bhutia All crew members on board were rescued. Karma Sonam Bhutia

A DAY after floating restaurant ARK Deck Bar with 15 crew members on board capsized in the Arabian Sea off Bandra Reclamation, the Maharashtra Maritime Bureau (MMB) ordered an inquiry into the incident. The inquiry will find out if there was any negligence or violation of norms that led to the incident.

While the 15 crew members on board were rescued, the process of salvaging the ship will begin on Sunday after which it will be taken to Ferry Wharf, where it was intended to be parked when it left the Bandra jetty before the mishap. A salvage master from SMIT Salvage in Singapore is likely to reach Mumbai on Saturday night and salvage operations are scheduled to begin from Sunday morning. MMB Chief Executive Officer Vikram Kumar said, “At this stage, an inquiry into the cause of the accident has been ordered. The inquiry will be carried out by the chief port officer along with the regional port officer.

We want to find the reasons behind the incident. If it has anything to do with the vessel, we will come to know.” Kumar, however, said currently the priority is to salvage the vessel. Meanwhile, Mumbai BJP secretary Vivekanand Gupta, who had tweeted last year that the vessel did not have requisite permissions to operate, alleged that there were several illegalities. “Firstly, the permissions they obtained were for a stationary floatel. ARK Deck Bar would, however, sail from Bandra Jetty to Gateway of India. Secondly, the captain of the ship had permission to pilot a speedboat but here he was commanding a ship. They have been able to function with help from some government authorities in the past. Even now, why has the police not registered an FIR in the matter,” Gupta asked.

Kookie Singh, one of the operators of ARK Deck Bar, however, denied the allegations. “We have all the permissions that are required to run the floatel from various authorities. There are several things that are being spread by some of our competitors,” he said. The MMB CEO confirmed that the vessel had all the necessary permissions from the agency. “We, however, give permissions that verify that a particular vessel is sea-worthy. They also need permission from various other authorities, including the BMC and police.”

An official from the MMB said that first the salvage team will carry out an underwater survey to detect the puncture from where water entered the ship. After fixing that, a tugboat will be used to take the ship to Ferry Wharf, where it was originally meant to be docked till the end of monsoon. “The process could take two to three days, depending on the weather conditions,” the official said.

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