VASCO : Rejecting criticism that it was neither equipped not competent to move and handle the inflammable naphtha, Ganesh Benzoplast Limited (GBL) claimed that pumping naphtha from an unmanned ship was one of the most difficult task in the operations.
“While there was news that GBL did not have valid permission and the operations were a threat to public safety, GBL had, in fact, permission and approval of various agencies and pipelines and tanks were inspected prior to loading of naphtha,” a GBL official told The Goan.
“There have been many stories floating regarding the safety of our tanks, but for storage of naphtha it is mandatory to have explosives license for A class products. Besides, we are also governed by other bodies like Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and our PESO license is valid till 2022.”
The official claimed GBL had conducted a series of inspections before naphtha could be stored in its tanks.
“The storage tanks and pipelines were checked by PESO and IRS officials, after which the naphtha was stored,” said the official, adding that getting the naphtha from an unmanned ship was one of the most tedious tasks of the entire operation.
“GBL has previously handled naphtha on many occasions but we usually connect our pipeline to the discharge point of the ship and the ship then uses its engines and power to pump out the cargo. This time, the ship was unmanned and engines were non-functional. As such, GBL had to handle the situation extremely cautiously, leaving no scope for error,” the official added.
