Indian Coast Guard Saves Tanker and 23 Crew Off Odisha

Belize-flagged chemical tanker MT Seagull 9 sent a distress call on September 27 after its main engine failed and water rapidly flooded a ballast tank, leaving the tanker listing dangerously about 37 nautical miles off Paradip on the Odisha coast.

Indian Coast Guard ICGS Vishwast arrived and put a damage control team aboard. They used submersible pumps to clear the ballast tanks and sealed the ruptured sea-pipelines. All 23 crew were safe. A minor palm-oil sheen appeared on the water and dissipated by the time the operation ended. The tanker was carrying 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil from Kuching, Malaysia. It was towed to an anchorage area off Paradip Port for repairs.

The rescue came months after Ocean Winner sank in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha with 22 crew still missing after 2 were pulled from a life raft.