The vessel was waiting since June 13 to berth, but shortage of navigators with the KoPT had forced it remain there till June 16 evening, when the weather worsened. Subsequently, the KoPT authorities refused to send a navigator in the rough weather. The pitch and roll of stormy seas, meanwhile, had dislodged a part of the ship’s cargo to the right side causing the vessel to tilt dangerously at a 10 degree angle.

After docking safely at Haldia, captain of the vessel, Xuxizhen told The Indian Express, “We were at God’s mercy. We were only 30 nautical miles from the docks, but no help came from the port. My ship was tilting and we were out on the high seas in heavy gale. We had dropped double anchor, yet the cargo got dislodged.”

With no help in sight, Xuxizhen decided to act on his own.

“To correct the tilt, I filled the ballast tanks on the port (left) side of the ship. Eventually, we managed to reduce the tilt to five degrees. On Thursday morning, a pilot arrived from

Haldia and guided us to the docks. We are happy to make it safely.”