In a risky mission, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) successfully rescued 22 people from a sinking ship in the Arabian Sea, roughly 185 kilometres off the city of Porbandar in Gujarat. The mission was undertaken after a distress call was received at 8:00 am on July 6. All 22 crew members (20 Indian, 1 Pakistani, & 1 Sri Lankan) are in good health and are being transported to Porbandar.
ICG received a distress warning at around 8:20 a.m. about excessive flooding on board the commercial vessel Global King-1. The ship was allegedly 185 kilometres off the coast of Porbandar. ICG responded immediately and contacted the necessary parties. Despite the bad weather, an Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft was deployed from Indian Coast Guard Air Station Porbandar at 9:00 am to investigate the situation and communicate with the nearby vessels. The Dornier, on reaching the area, dropped a life raft for the crew. ICG Ship Shoor, CG Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) already at sea was also directed to immediately reach the area.
The ICG ship made its way there at top speed while navigating extremely choppy seas. In case of emergency, the locally produced twin-engine Advanced Light Helicopters from ICG Air Station Porbandar were also deployed in SAR form. Around 10:45 a.m., the crew abandoned the ship in a life raft after failing to stop the flooding. In order to get there, the helicopters battled bad weather and severe gusts while operating near to their operational maximum. Following that, all 22 individuals were safely rescued in a combined sea and air operation.
The ship was travelling with 6000 tonnes of bitumen from Khor Fakkan (UAE) to Karwar (India). By way of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai, the MV FOS Athens and MV Sydney were also redirected to aid ICG in the operations.
Also read : Porbandar: ICG Gets Advanced Light Helicopter MK III Squadron
