Container Ship NAWATA BHUM Hits Hooghly Riverbank at Diamond Harbour After Steering Failure

A container ship lost control on the Hooghly River on Wednesday and smashed into the riverbank at Diamond Harbour, about 50 kilometres south of Kolkata.

The MV NAWATA BHUM, a 147-metre Singapore-flagged container ship sailing from Port Klang in Malaysia to Kolkata, failed to complete its turn at a bend in the river near Nurpur village. The ship's master blew the horn continuously after realising the steering was jammed, giving people on the bank time to move clear.

No crew or bystanders were injured. The impact damaged the embankment. NAWATA BHUM was passing through one of India's busiest river approaches when the failure occurred.

Rough water and a possible steering gear problem are thought to have contributed to the loss of control, though the exact cause was not confirmed by port authorities.

MarineRadar recorded 9 unique devices tracking NAWATA BHUM in the past 48 hours, the first time the ship has appeared in the platform's trending data.