SINKING OF FISHING BOAT - AL KARIMI - 23 AUG 2006

      CG Interceptor Craft IC-112 whilst on patrol received an information at about 1500 hrs on 23 Aug 06 from fishermen about sinking of a fishing boat Al Karimi off Jakhau harbour at about 0830 hrs on 23 Aug 06. The Porbandar registered boat with five crew onboard sailed from Salaya to Jakhau at 1200 hrs on 22 Aug 06. The boat sank off Jakhau harbour under inclement weather conditions and four crew reached harbour safely while one crew could not be located.

      Indian Coast Guard interceptor craft IC-112 and other fishermen in vicinity carried out extensive search for the boat and the missing crew but all efforts proved futile. It was reported that the sunken boat and the body of the missing crew were washed ashore and sighted at about 0800 hrs on 24 Aug 06 about 1.6 miles south of Jakhau harbour mouth. The master of the boat is being interrogated by the local police.

RESCUE OF EIGHT FISHERMAN FROM FISHING BOAT

OFF KERALA COAST - 18 AUG 2006

     At about 1500 hrs on 18 Aug 06, information was received by MRCC (Mumbai) about one fishing boat partially flooded in position about 31 NM south of Vizhinjam (Kerala). MV Front Maple transiting the area sighted the distressed boat and proceeded to render assistance. All the eight crew members were rescued by the merchant vessel and taken onboard. ICG ship Veera was diverted to the area and effected R/V with the vessel at about 0500 hrs on 19 Aug 06. The rescued crew were transferred onboard the lCG ship and provided with first aid. The rescued crew were brought to Vizhinjam and handed over to the marine enforcement department.

MV MAC AGROUND OFF A&N ISLANDS - 17 AUG 2006

At about 1430 hrs on 16 Aug 06 a distress alert was received by MRCC(Port Blair) from unidentified vessel in position about 25 nautical miles south of Katchal island in Andaman & Nicobar. As no further updates were received after the alert, MRCC (Port Blair) continued the efforts to find out the details of the vessel through database and contacting MRCCs of neighbouring countries i.e Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. However, no details were available. Meanwhile, MV Shakti which sailed from Campbell Bay was diverted for search and rescue assistance. ICG Dornier aircraft was also launched from Port Blair at about 1530 hrs on 17 Aug 06.

        At about 1400 hrs on 17 Aug 06, MV Shakti sighted car carrier MV Mac, (flag - Indonesia) aground off Meroe island about 25 nautical miles south of Katchal island. IAF was requested to evacuate the stranded crew by helicopter AM 18 Aug 06.

      ICG Dornier aircraft was launched at about 1015 hrs on 18 Aug 06 from Port Blair and reported sighting of approximately 14 persons close to the vessel with three tents rigged ashore. No oil pollution was observed in the vicinity of the vessel.

      The vessel was proceeding to Alang for ship breaking and the owner was responsible for the safe arrival of the vessel till Alang. All the 14 crew members have been evacuated by IAF helicopter AM 19 Aug 06 and are presently at Port Blair undergoing immigration checks by immigration department (A&N administration). ICG is closely monitoring the area for any oil pollution and has advised the owner to initiate measures to salvage the grounded vessel at the earliest.

SAR ASSISTANCE FOR MAN OVERBOARD FROM MFV JALPARI 3 - 17 AUG 2006

    On 17 Aug 06, information was received by MRCC (Port Blair) regarding man overboard from MFV Jalpari 3 in position about 18 NM north of Tillanchang island in A&N islands. The crew, Mr Appa Rao (Indian national) was reported missing since 0830 hrs On 16 Aug 06. ICG Dornier aircraft was launched from Port Blair at about 1530 hrs on 17 Aug 06 for search and rescue assistance. A sea-air coordinated search was carried out with fishing vessels Jalpari 1, Jalpari 2 and Jalpari 3 operating in area.  Another sortie by ICG Dornier was launched AM 18 Aug 06 for locating the man overboard. However, the missing crew could not be located.   

ASSISTANCE TO FV KARVIL  OFF QUILON- 16 AUG 2006

At about 0730 hrs on 16 Aug 2006, ICG Ship Varuna while on patrol intercepted a VHF distress call from  an Indian fishing vessel Karvil experiencing excessive flooding due to underwater hull damage in position about 14 nautical miles west of Quilon. The vessel had seven crew onboard. 

  The ship immediately approached the vessel for rendering rescue assistance and arrived the area at about 0820 hrs on 16 Aug 06.The damage control party along with deflooding equipment was embarked onboard the vessel which brought the flooding under control by temporarily repairing the damaged area. Thereafter the vessel was towed till three nautical miles off Neendakara harbour and handed over to fishing vessel NK Sons No.1 at about 1400 hrs on 16 Aug 06 belonging to the same owner.

RESCUE OF FV SAMUDRA LAXMI OFF MANGALORE - 16 AUG 2006

At about 1700 hrs on 16 Aug 2006 ,information was received by ICG District Headquarters at New Mangalore about fishing vessel Samudra Laxmi reported in distress in position about 1.5 Nautical miles off Mangalore harbour. The vessel had eight crew onboard.

     On receipt of the information, ICG ship Kasturba Gandhi was sailed from New Mangalore at about 1730 hrs on 16 Aug 06 for search and rescue assistance. The ship arrived the area at about 1820 hrs on 16 Aug 06.The weather in the area was extremely bad with strong winds and swell. However, all eight crews were rescued by the ICG ship and taken onboard. The vessel was thereafter taken under tow and brought to New Mangalore.The survivors have been handed over to the local fisheries department.

RESCUE OF FISHERMAN OFF KERALA COAST - 15 AUG 2006

On 15 Aug 06, information was received by Coast Guard District Headquarters, New Mangalore from port authorities about a fishing boat ’Gift of God’ capsized in position about 15 NM West of Kasargod (Kerala).    

     On receipt of the information, MRSC New Mangalore diverted merchant vessel MV Punita, which was on passage from Haldia to New Mangalore for search and rescue of the fishermen. The vessel reported sighting of a capsized boat and crew afloat in vicinity.

    All four crew of the fishing boat were rescued at 0955hrs and brought to New Mangalore at 1245hrs.The survivors have been handed over to the district administration and are reported to be in good health.

ASSISTANCE TO FV GEETANAJLI OFF SAGAR ISLAN -15 AUG 2006

     At about 1540 hrs on 15 Aug 2006, ICG Ship Sucheta Kriplani while on patrol encountered an Indian fishing vessel Geetanjali adrift in position about 51 nautical miles south of Sagar Island (West Bengal). The vessel with 14 crew onboard had experienced engine breakdown and needed assistance. As the weather in the area was extremely bad with very rough sea, the efforts to board the vessel were unsuccessful.  It was therefore decided to take the, vessel under tow by the ICG ship upto Sagar Island.  The ICG technical team embarked onboard the vessel for assisting in repairs, however, the efforts were proved futile due to non-availability of critical spares for rectification of the defect.

     The owner was intimated to arrange assistance for repairs and the vessel was advised to be in constant communication with other boats in vicinity and the owner.  The vessel was towed by another vessel arranged by the owner and brought to Kakdip at about 1430 hrs on 16 Aug 06.

MV AMAR ADRIFT IN A&N ISLANDS AND

 SPILLAGE OF OIL BY MT BRIGHT ARTEMIS - 14 AUG 2006

      On receipt of the information, MRCC (Port Blair) immediately intimated MRCC Colombo regarding the incident as the position of the incident lies in Srilankan search and rescue region.  Further the owner of MV Amar has been advised to initiate salvage of the derelict.  It has been ascertained that a salvage tug alongwith fire fighting team is being arranged from Singapore by the owner for salvaging the vessel adrift.  ICG Dornier aircraft was launched from Port Blair at about 0815 hrs on 16 Aug 06 for monitoring the situation.  MV Amar was sighted in position about 250 nautical miles west of Indira Point at about 1055 hrs.  Thin patches of silver shiny oil sheen approximately 300 meter wide have also been observed from position 290 nautical miles west of Indira Point extending upto 16 nautical miles in the north east – south west direction.  MV Maersk Dampier alongwith 23 survivors is presently proceeding to Malaysia.

    At about 1845 hrs on 14 Aug 06, information was received fire onboard MV Amar in position about 290 Nautical miles west of Indira point in A&N Islands. It was reported that the vessel received distress alert from MV Amar while enroute from Saudi Arabia to Japan.  The crew had abandoned the ship into the life boat after the ship caught fire in accommodation area. While approaching to rescue the survivors from the life boat, MV Amar drifted on to MT Bright Artemis due to heavy weather and rough seas and collided resulting in rupturing of starboard (right) slop tank and spilling of 450 MT of oil into the sea.  

      As the vessel was engaged in attending hull damage and transferring of oil for checking further spillage, the rescue operation was abandoned. The leakage was stopped and the vessel proceeded to Singapore for unloading the cargo and undertaking repairs. MV Maersk Dampier operating in vicinity also responded to the distress alert and rescued all crew except one.

MT SUNPINE ADRIFT OFF A&N ISLANDS - 13 AUG 2006

      At about 0200 hrs on 13 Aug 06, information was received by MRCC (Port Blair) from M/s Atlanta Shipping, Kolkata regarding MT Sunpine adrift in position about 195 Nautical miles west of Port Blair since 0100 hrs on 13 Aug 06 due to machinary breakdown. 

    On receipt of the information, contact was established by MRCC (Port Blair) with the vessel on satellite telephone and it was ascertained that the efforts were being made by the ships crew to rectify the defect.  ICG dornier aircraft was launched from Port Blair at about 0845 hrs on 13 Aug 06 for monitoring the situation.  However, the master of the vessel intimated that the defect had been rectified by the crew and the vessel was resuming the passage.

        On 14 Aug 06 at about 0700 hrs, information was received that the vessel had further developed problem in the compressor in position about 155 nautical miles west of Port Blair.  The owner has been advised to initiate actions for arranging assistance to the vessel for towing / repairs.  It has been ascertained that the vessel alongwith all crew is safe and does not require any ICG assistance.  The owner has arranged an ocean tug from Singapore which is scheduled to arrive area PM 19 Aug 06 for towing assistance.

      ICG Dornier   aircraft was launched from Port Blair at about 0715 hrs on 15 Aug 06 and sighted the vessel in position about 140 nautical miles west of Port Blair.  The representative of the owner is arriving Port Blair AM 17 Aug 06 for coordinating the assistance. The vessel is reported to be in position about 140 nautical miles northwest of Port Blair.

    ICG was requested for assistance for air lifting requisite spares for rectification of machinery defects by the representative of the owner. However, the company later intimated that ICG assistance would not be required as the transfer of spares from the helicopter to the vessel by winching down in prevalent weather was considered unsafe. Meanwhile, salvage tug Britoil-50 arranged by the owner from Singapore arrived the area on 19 Aug 06. The vessel was taken under tow by the tug and was brought to Port Blair at about 0600hrs on 20 Aug 06.

SAR ASSISTANCE TO MV CHRISTENA-II - 28 JUL 2006

    MV Chrestena_II a Panamian bulk carrier registered vessel ran aground off Porbander in Gujarat due to failure of both main engines while heaving anchor on 28 Jul 2006. The vessel arrived from Hamrina (UAE) in ballast reportedly carrying 180 KL of marine diesel oil and 40 KL of high speed diesel. All the 25 crew on board were evacuated and handed over to local police on 28 Jul 2006 for immigration formalities.

     The owners of vessel were issued with a notice to take appropriate measures to prevent escape of oil from the grounded vessel and prevent damage to the environment.

     Representative of the ships owner M/s Deep Ocean Company, Dubai, UAE arrived on 29 Jul 2006 with hull and machinery experts. The owner mobilised equipment and material at the site of incident for pumping out of oil from vessel. The pumping out of fuel from the grounded vessel commenced on 06 Aug 2006.

      The pumping out of fuel oil and treatment to the fuel tanks of the grounded vessel was completed on 15 Aug 2006 by salvers Mis Smit TAK, Singapore. A total of 218.3 cubic mtrs of fuel oil was removed from the vessel. The oil tanks and engine room spaces have been inspected and were also treated with dispersants to rule out any possible presence of oil onboard the vessel.

SAR ASSISTANCE TO MV SERAYA - 30 MAY 2006

The port officer Karwar reported to Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (New Mangalore) about MV Ocean Seraya dragging anchor and running  aground over the oyster rocks at about 0800 hrs on 30 May 06.  The vessel was on ballast and anchored off Karwar since 27 May 06, awaiting berthing instructions for embarking cargo of iron ore. 

        Indian Coast Guard immediately on receipt of SAR request, launched Chetak helicopter CG 805 from Goa for Search and Rescue operation for evacuating the stranded crew from the ship. 14 crew have been evacuated ashore to Karwar safely by the Coast Guard helicopter.  One crew is reported to be missing.  Five crew were evacuated by IN helicopter ex-Goa.

 The ship is lying off Oyster rock and has parted into two halves.  The parted portions are holding together with one feet gap between them.  The vessel’s aft portion is resting on rocks whereas the front portion is afloat and is held with anchor cables.  Most of the fuel tanks are intact however two tanks with 17 tonnes capacity each have been reported ruptured. ICG authorities, local administrative and port authorities are working out further modalities. 

SAR ASSISTANCE TO STRANDED FISHING BOATS

OFF MALPE HARBOUR 29 MAY 2006

The Port Conservators Malpe reported to MRSC New Mangalore about 300–400 fishing boats stranded off Malpe harbour due to adverse weather condition on 29 May 06. Preliminary report indicated that two boats sank and six fishermen were reported missing.

     MRSC New Mangalore immediately on receipt of information initiated SAR efforts by sailing two FPVs namely ICGS Annie Besant and Kasturba Gandhi with dispatch around noon to date 29 May 06, from New Mangalore.

   Indian Coast Guard in liaison with the District administration at Malpe coordinated rescue of fishers stranded on 29 May 06 at the mouth of Malpe harbour. ICGS Annie Besant and Kasturba Gandhi are on scene braving the rough weather.  Six fishermen were rescued by ICGS Annie Besant from the stranded fishing vessel Annupama off St Mary Island in the night on 29 May 06.  

   Details of missing boats/fishermen is being ascertained by Port authorities. The Coast Guard shore liaison team has been set up at Port office, Malpe for better coordination.

     Hon’ble CM of Karnataka visited Malpe on 30 May 06 noon. DGICG has also apprised the Hon’ble CM of Karnataka regarding the prevalent situations and the ICG efforts in providing assistance to the district administration.

SAR ASSISTANCE TO SRI LANKAN FISHING TRAWLER SAVANATHI - 29 MAY 2006

SAR ASSISTANCE TO INDIAN DHOW BY PAKISTAN MARITIME SECURITY AGENCY - 15 MAR 2006

      At about 0815 hrs on 15 Mar 06, a request for assistance was received by MRCC, Pakistan at Karachi on VHF channel-16 from an Indian cargo Dhow Al-Makhdoom Shah experiencing heavy flooding at anchorage in Ormara East Bay about 120 NM west of Karachi.  The flooding was caused due to damage of the propeller shaft.  Further, the Dhow had exhausted all the available fuel by continuously running the de-flooding pumps. 

     On receipt of the request for assistance, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency provided the necessary assistance to the Dhow in carrying out defect rectification.  The Dhow was refueled after repairs and departed at 1920 hrs on 15 mar 06 for Dubai.  The vessel along with all crew are reported to be safe. 

     This is the second incident of humanitarian gesture by the Pak MSA in the recent past, the earlier incident occurred on 27 Feb 06.

SAR ASSISTANCE – MV ACE I 12 MAR 2006

     At about 0730 hrs on 12 Mar 06, information was received by Coast Guard Headquarters from Korea Coast Guard about unknown distress alert from a merchant vessel MT Ace-I in position about 62 NM South West of Little Andaman Islands (A&N Islands) at 1200 hrs on 11 Mar 06.

      On receipt  of the information, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Port Blair) was directed to coordinate the necessary SAR assistance. International Safety Net (ISN) message was transmitted requesting vessels transiting the area to render necessary assistance to the distressed vessel.

      Korea Coast Guard also intimated that the vessel’s updated position was about 310 NM west of Little Andaman Islands at 1000 hrs on 12 Mar 06. As the efforts to contact the vessel were unsuccessful, ICG Dornier aircraft was launched at about

SAR ASSISTANCE -MV MASTER K 12 MAR 2006

      At about 1635 hrs on 12 Mar 06, an urgency message was received by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Mumbai) from MV Master K in position about 70 NM west of Agatti Island (Lakshadweep Islands). The ship was reported to have experienced engine breakdown and required towing assistance.

       On receipt of the message, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (Mumbai) immediately contacted the owner, M/s Sudoservis Shipping Consultancy and Trading, Turkey and advised them to arrange a commercial tug with a repair team embarked onboard for towing/repairs assistance. It has been confirmed that Tug Mahanuwara has left Dunhinda port of Srilanka PM 12 Mar 06 for assistance and is expected to arrive the area at about 1100 hrs on 15 Mar 06.The vessel along with all crew is reported to be safe. However, the situation is being closely monitored.