Ever seen a tanker just 50 meters off shore? Neither had the good people of Goa until about five years ago, when a huge storm embedded the 266 meter River Pricess in about nine feet of sand. You can see it quite well in all of my beach pics -- remember that this is right off the beach of all of Goa's most luxurious resorts!

The original owners got in a huge legal battle with the Goan state government, and the state passed a law which allowed them to assume ownership of the vessel. Then they did nothing for a few years except infight about what to do. But now they've reached a resolution that should have the ship out within 30 days.

CrossChem (a salvage company) will pay the state government Rs 85.41 lakh (USD $20k) for the vessel whose scrap value is estimate at Rs 3 crore (USD $685k -- after removal costs).