One of the floating casinos which was going to occupy a spot in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa recently made its way too close to a sandbar in the river. The casino cruise vessel ran aground and attracted the attention of tourists and locals alike.
This Sunday evening the MV Lucky 7 casino vessel had to be towed from Mormugao harbor to its specially designated anchoring location on the river, but on its way there the enormous vessel got stuck on a sandbar close to the Miramar beach. This event happens right after the owner of the ship, Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd. was granted permission to set sail. The company received the nod from the High Court of Bombay last week. The MV Lucky 7 launched on the weekend and was ready to open for business when the unfortunate mishap happened.
According to report on the hiccup, the Coast Guard was summoned to take care and bring ashore four of the 19 people of the ship crew members. The people were extremely sea sick and one of them was injured, so a medical help was necessary. According to the plans, the ship was due to take on passengers after it reached its predestined mooring place. The casino vesselās mishap just highlights an ongoing discussion and a potential issue for the casino operator.
The controversy with MV Lucky 7 is that the company was advised to postpone the launch of the new floating casino. The reason behind this is the arrival of the monsoon season in the Indian region and the problematic weather conditions which come with it. After the ship ran aground it became clear that the crew of the ship did not think things through and went too close to the Aguada sandbar area. This part of the river is routinely closed for navigation during the ongoing monsoon season, and the course of events was more than likely to happen.
A salvager from the local community said in front of reporters that the crew miscalculated their route and had taken high risks when picking their navigation route, which could be easily avoided. When asked for comment on the event a representative from the opposition AAP Goa party stated that the shipās running aground happened because the government decided not to take into account the advice of the Captain of Ports in relation to the weather conditions.
In case there are any damages afflicted to the environment, because of the casino vesselās running aground, the government should take the blame and come up with measures to resolve the potential issues. There are about 12,000 liters of diesel fuel currently in the tank of the ship, which automatically makes it a biohazard ticking bomb.
