Visakhapatnam: A research vessel belonging to Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), on hire with National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), broke anchor and drifted away last Sunday from jetty no. 5 of the fishing harbour, when Cyclone Hudhud hit the coast.
The 12-member crew of Sagar Paschimi escaped unhurt and the incident came to light only on Friday.
“The ropes of the vessel had snapped due to the strong winds and cracks had started appearing in the cabin. Within no time, water started entering the vessel. Captain Doraiswamy asked all of us to jump out, as the vessel started drifting.
With the help of life vests and lifeboats we reached the jetty safely. It was a miraculous escape,” said senior helpsman (SHM) of the vessel, Narendra Kumar.
Established in 1996, CRV Sagar Paschimi was acquired by the ministry of earth sciences (MoES) for studying coastal pollution, coastal surveys and near shore multidisciplinary work.
The vessel is used for the implementation of Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System and Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management programmes of the MoES and to provide services to the other agencies like universities and research institutes for surveys and data collection.
“It’s unfortunate that neither the NIO nor SCI are bothered about the crew members’ whereabouts and their welfare. They were left to their fate. Since a week we have been taking care of the crew members,” said Abdul Sharieff of Forward Seamen’s Union of India.
