EC for Sravan Shipping suspended

Show cause issued to the company by MoEF&CC

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has issued a show cause notice to Sravan Shipping Services Private Limited for cancellation/ revocation of environment clearance and also suspended the EC till the final decision is taken on the notice. This was disclosed in a communiqué from the District Collector, here on Monday.

Sravan Shipping is the stevedores for ammonium nitrate (AN) imported through Visakhapatnam Port and also has a storage facility at Mindi in Visakhapatnam to store the material.

Earlier notice

Earlier, based on initiatives taken by the District Collector and APPCB, the Commissioner of Police issued a show cause notice to the facility for violation of ammonium nitrate rules and also addressed a letter to Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur, on September 10 for further action.

Following the explosion on August 4 this year at an ammonium nitrate storage facility in Beirut, Lebanon, in which about 190 people were reported dead and over 6,500 were injured, the AN facility in Visakhapatnam had come under the scanner. Three ships containing AN were also not allowed inside the port, after APPCB inspected the storage facility and directed the Chairman of VPT not to engage Sravan Shipping in further operations of stevedoring activities associated with storage and handling of AN, till further orders.

The APPCB reviewed the facility on August 12 and issued the notice to VPT on August 14.

The APPCB also brought to the notice of MoEF&CC on the violations of environment clearance, through a letter on August 17.

The APPCB also addressed two letters to Chief Controller Explosives, Nagpur, on September 2 and 4, requesting the official to clarify whether the facility was complying with conditions stipulated by PESO.