Cargo ship sinks in Bay of Bengal, Navy-Coast Guard race to rescue 24 crew
Representational image. (Image courtesy: Wikimedia)
New Delhi: The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have launched a search-and-rescue operation after Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner sank in the Bay of Bengal, around 240 nautical miles from Odisha’s Paradip coast. The vessel was carrying 24 crew members and a cargo of iron ore from Paradip to Singapore.
MV Ocean Winner, a 225-metre-long vessel, had left Paradip Port on Thursday and was scheduled to reach Singapore on August 27. Maritime authorities lost contact with the ship on Saturday after it was last reported more than 200 nautical miles off the Odisha coast.
The crew comprised 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Sri Vijaya Puram received information at 11.48am about the loss of communication with the vessel and a request for search-and-rescue assistance.
Following the alert, MRCC activated the international safety net and diverted merchant vessel MT AISOPOS, which was in the vicinity, to search for MV Ocean Winner and any life rafts. At around 8pm MT AISOPOS located and rescued two survivors from two separate life rafts.
The Coast Guard has deployed three ships ICGS Varad, ICGS Anmol and ICGS Vijit, to intensify the search-and-rescue operation. Varad and Anmol were deployed for the search effort, while Vijit was sent from Sri Vijaya Puram to augment the operation.
The rescue mission is being carried out to locate the remaining crew members and bring them to safety. Authorities are yet to establish what caused the vessel to sink in the Bay of Bengal.
Captain Alekha Charan Sahoo, deputy conservator of the Paradip Port Authority, expressed concern over the incident and said he was praying for the safety of the crew. He said he was hoping for the best as the rescue operation continued, Reuters reported.
The vessel’s cause of sinking remains unknown. The Indian Navy, Coast Guard and other vessels involved in the operation are continuing the search for the remaining seafarers.
