THE MASTER of Gal Constructor, an accommodation barge involved in ONGC’s operations off Mumbai, has said that the company which hired the vessel, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, wanted him to keep his vessel in the operational area at sea during Cyclone Tauktae — and told him that the Master of P305, another accommodation barge, had already agreed to such a plan.
Barge Master Agnelo Socorro Rebello said that he had, however, insisted on getting a tug boat to steer the vessel towards shore, and reached outer anchorage on May 16. On May 18, the vessel ran aground in Palghar, and all 137 onboard were saved. P305 remained in the operational area and sank in the storm, killing 75 of the 261 people onboard.
