Cargo Ship Sinks in Bay 700 Km Off Vizag, 2 Crew Members Rescued
The Panama-flagged vessel, which was carrying iron ore from Paradip Port to China, sank around 230 nautical miles from the Paradip coast of Odisha
Visakhapatnam: A Panama-flagged bulk carrier, MV Ocean Winner, sank in the Bay of Bengal while carrying iron ore from Paradip in Odisha to China, triggering a major search and rescue operation by the Indian Coast Guard and Navy.
The vessel sank on Saturday, about 444 km (276 miles) from Paradip and 700 km east of Visakhapatnam, after communication with the ship was lost. There were 24 crew members on board, comprising 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi.
A release from Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam on Sunday said on Saturday, responding to the distress alert from MV Ocean Winner, approximately 700 Km East of Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy aircraft P8I on surveillance sortie was rapidly redeployed for Search and Rescue mission in coordination with Maritime Rescue Coordiantion Center in Sri Vijay Puram.
The naval aircraft located life rafts in the area, and soon coordinated with Merchant Tanker Aisopos, which was transiting nearby, with a request for her to render assistance. By late evening on Saturday, the oil tanker had rescued two of the 24 crew members from the life rafts.
The ENC release further said the Navy continued to closely coordinate with the Indian Coast Guard in the SAR operation to locate the remaining crew.
The Coast Guard and Indian Navy have deployed three ships for the operation. Aircraft are also being used to search the vast area around the reported sinking location.
The MV Ocean Winner was a bulk carrier built in 1998. The circumstances leading to the vessel's sinking are not immediately clear, and authorities are yet to establish whether bad weather, a technical problem or another factor caused the accident.
The incident comes amid heightened maritime activity in the Bay of Bengal, where vessels transporting bulk commodities regularly operate between Indian ports and destinations in East Asia.
Authorities are expected to gather information from the rescued crew members and other sources to determine what happened to the vessel before it sank. Rescue agencies are continuing their efforts to trace the missing crew members.
