Chennai, July 22 (IANS) Twelve Indian crew stranded on cargo ship MV Kanchan were rescued just ahead of the vessel sinking off Umargam, Gujarat, said an official of Indian Coast Guard.
“The 12 crew of MV Kanchan have been rescued and will be reaching Mumbai later in the day. Meanwhile there is no sign of the steel carrying ship and is reportedly sunk,” the official told IANS.
According to the official ETV Water Lily deployed by the Directorate General Shipping reached the spot where MV Kanchan had earlier anchored and did not find it there.
The Directorate General Shipping had chartered ETV Water Lily for assisting stranded vessels.
According to Coast Guard, its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Mumbai received information on July 21, 2021 afternoon about MV Kanchan being stranded off Umargam, Gujarat due to fuel contamination resulting its engine non-operation and the vessel being without electrical power.
The weather in area was inclement with winds gusting up to 50 Knots and waves reaching upto the height of 3-3.5 metres.
“Later in evening, the master of the vessel intimated that MV Kanchan, which was carrying steel coils as cargo, had dropped anchor and listing/tilting towards Starboard (right) side,” Coast Guard said.
The MRCC then activated the International Safety Net (ISN) to identify all the vessels in vicinity to assist stranded vessel MV Kanchan.
MV Hermeez in vicinity was quick to respond and immediately diverted towards distressed vessel.
Braving rough seas, MV Hermeez safely evacuated all the 12 crew of MV Kanchan, in a daring night operation on July 21,2021.
The rescued crew are expected to reach Mumbai by Thursday evening.
According to the Coast Guard official, there is no information about the two tugs said to have been deployed by the owners of MV Kanchan.
The official added that Navarea warning has been issued cautioning other vessels about the accident spot.
–IANS
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