The Indian Coast Guard, working with the Indian Navy, intensified the search for 22 crewmembers missing from a bulker that was believed to have sunk in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday. Additional resources have been deployed, but the Coast Guard said hope was fading after they searched a lifeboat from the vessel.
A reconnaissance aircraft from the Indian Navy picked up a distress signal from the Panama-flagged bulker Ocean Winner and visually spotted three lifeboats and rafts from the vessel. The aircraft supplied the coordinates to the Indian Coast Guard, and the patrol boat ICGS Varad reached the coordinates. It recovered the vessel’s emergency beacon and also searched a damaged lifeboat, but no one was aboard.
The Navy also reported seeing an oil slick believed to be coming from the lost bulker. The position is approximately 230 nautical miles off the Odisha coast. The Ocean Winner (72,928 dwt) had departed Paradip, India, on August 20, bound for Singapore. Built in 1998, the vessel is managed by a Chinese company. It was last inspected in June, with the reported deficiencies related to fire safety.
The Coast Guard said on Tuesday that additional resources were being deployed. Two merchant ships also joined the search.
A good Samaritan vessel, the tanker Aisopos, reported late on Saturday that it had recovered two crewmembers from the bulker in life rafts.
The crew told them that the ship had taken on a sudden list on Saturday morning. They said it was possibly just eight minutes until the vessel began sinking. The crew said the ship had been holding off Pradip since August 3 and had experienced significant heavy rain during that time. It then proceeded to load 72,200 tonnes of iron ore fines.
Suspicions are focusing on possible liquefaction of the cargo, but Coast Guard officials are emphasizing that no cause has been determined. They highlighted that there are prescribed transportable moisture limits for cargo and that wet loading of iron ore is prohibited. They will be investigating the conditions during loading.
The ship had a total of 24 crewmembers, including 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh. The two rescued crewmembers are reported to be Chinese.
The Coast Guard vessels Anmol and Vijit joined the Varad and are all working the search area.
