Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jun 13: On Wednesday June 12, personnel of the Coast Guard rescued a cargo ship that was facing problems at the Arabian Sea. 18 citizens of Maldives, and four Indians, were rescued from the ship.

The ship named M V Asian Express, which is registered in Maldives, was carrying cement and sand from a port in Pakistan to Male in Maldives, when it encountered trouble. It got stranded 194 nautical miles off Kochi port and 50 nautical miles from Minicoy Island on June 10, due to engine failure. The ship remained in the middle of sea for two days, and was facing a dangerous situation created by heavy rain, choppy sea, and speeding wind.

An Indian ship was the first o beam the information about the ship in danger. ‘Varuna’, a Coast Guard ship that was operational near Lakshadweep then, received this message. The ship and its staff reached the stranded ship, which was in grave danger due to a three to four metre-long and two inch vide crack that had appeared in the ship’s bottom, at about 3 pm on Wednesday. The crew of the ship was finding it hard to pump out the water accumulated inside.

By 6.30 pm, the operation of shifting the staff from the Maldives ship to ‘Varuna’ was concluded. The operation was led by commander K M Arun Kumar. Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai guided the operation. The rescued sailors have been shifted to Kochi.