Two Rescued After Cargo Ship Sinks Off Odisha Coast; Search On For 22 Crew Members

Bhubaneswar: A major search-and-rescue operation is underway in the Bay of Bengal after Panama-flagged cargo vessel MV Ocean-Winner sank around 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast on Saturday. Two crew members have been rescued so far.

The two survivors were found in separate liferafts at around 8 p.m. by merchant tanker MT AISOPOS, which was diverted to the area after an alert was raised over the vessel’s disappearance.

MV Ocean-Winner had sailed from Paradip Port at around 10:30 p.m. on August 20, carrying nearly 1,700 tonnes of iron ore. The vessel was bound for Singapore and had 24 crew members onboard, including 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Sri Vijaya Puram, received information at around 11:48 a.m. on August 22 that communication with the vessel had been lost. The alert was raised by Victory Star Group Co. Ltd, the ship’s operator.

Following the distress alert, the MRCC activated the Indian Search and Rescue network and directed MT AISOPOS to assist in locating the missing vessel and its liferafts. The tanker subsequently rescued two crew members from separate liferafts.

The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have joined forces in the ongoing operation. Coast Guard vessels ICGS Varad and ICGS Anmol were deployed immediately, while ICGS Vijit sailed from Sri Vijaya Puram to strengthen the search effort.

Other vessels operating in the vicinity have also been alerted and asked to assist in locating the missing crew members.

With 22 crew members still unaccounted for, search efforts are continuing on a priority basis. Authorities are yet to establish the circumstances that led to the vessel’s sinking, and the exact cause of the incident remains under investigation.