New Delhi, Sep 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued a 23-crew Belize-flagged chemical tanker in the Bay of Bengal after an engine failure resulted in flooding and dangerous tilting of the vessel, an official said on Monday.
The Coast Guard averted the maritime incident following a distress situation involving tanker MT Seagull 9, approximately 37 nautical miles East-South-East of Paradip, Odisha.
The vessel, carrying 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil, issued an urgent distress call around 7.30 a.m. on Sunday after a main engine failure and rapid flooding of a ballast tank caused a dangerous tilt, it said.
ICGS Vishwast was immediately deployed to the location. A specialist ICG Damage Control Team boarded the unstable vessel and commenced emergency damage-control measures, it said.
The team deployed submersible de-flooding pumps, arrested the leakage, blanked two damaged seawater pipelines, and contained a third fractured line, eliminating the threat of capsizing, it said.
To augment the response, the Indian Coast Guard diverted a Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) and an additional Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). Simultaneously, the statement said, an ICG Dornier aircraft was launched from Bhubaneswar for real-time aerial surveillance.
A minor palm-oil sheen initially observed near the vessel on Sunday was confirmed fully dissipated during follow-up aerial sorties on Monday. Strict pollution-response protocols remain active to safeguard the marine ecosystem, the statement said.
Following stabilisation, Paradip Port Authority tug Dolphin took MT Seagull 9 under tow towards the anchorage area off Paradip.
“ICGS Vishwast, along with the other deployed specialised assets, remains on scene, maintaining an active sentinel watch and providing continuous operational support,” said the statement.
Earlier this month, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Sanjay Seth addressed the 43rd edition of ICG Commanders' Conference and urged them to remain prepared for emerging maritime security challenges by keeping pace with rapid technological advancements.
Seth highlighted that the character of warfare and security challenges were changing rapidly.
He stressed the growing importance of networks, sensors, software, data, Artificial Intelligence, autonomous systems, cyber capabilities and space-based technologies.
Stressing the need to harness emerging technologies to enhance operational effectiveness, MoS Seth called for ICG to not only remain a user but also become a co-creator by working closely with start-ups, industry, DRDO and research institutions.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz