Malpe: Two fishing boats – IFB Ganga Ganesh and IFB Suvarna Jyothi – each having six crew members onboard went missing recently. They were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard who braved the cyclonic conditions at sea.
It all started when, on October 25, a distress message about the missing boats was sent by the office of SP, CSP, Malpe to the No. 11 Coast Guard District Headquarters in Goa.
Their last known position was reported off of Vasco.
After receiving the information, Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS) Amal, Apoorva, Amartya and Samudra Prahari, operating off the Goa, Karnataka coast, were pressed into action.
The ships were also assisted by Coast Guard aircraft from New Mangalore. ICGS Rajdoot was also pressed into action exclusively for the Karnataka coast.
Meanwhile, the information was also shared with Headquarters, Coast Guard Region (West) at Mumbai and ICGS Samrat, which was on EEZ deployment from Mumbai, was also directed to join the search for the missing boats. While it was operating 25 NM south west of Murud Janjira, on October 26, it received a call from motor tanker (MT) Hari Aradhana for the Coast Guard to immediately assist in the rescue of fishermen stranded on the Suvarna Jyothi (IND-KA-02-MM-782).
The crew of the MT informed the Coast Guard ship crew that one of the fishing boat’s crew members fell overboard during rescue efforts due to the severe weather conditions and poor visibility. ICGS Samrat rescued the remaining crew from the ill fated fishing boat. They left the abandoned vessel anchored as the fishermen refused to stay on their boat and the weather conditions made it difficult to tow the fishing boat back to safety.
The ICGS then directed MT Hari Aradhana to take the rescued fishermen to the nearest port, Kochi, and hand them over to their Coast Guard.
During the operation, another motor tanker in the vicinity, MT Bambzi assisted greatly in relaying messages to the fishing boat and MT Hari Aradhana. They carried out an extensive search for the fisherman who had gone overboard till about 12 PM on October 27, however, they were unsuccessful in locating him. The ship also issued an advisory to all transiting vessels in the area and Coast Guard Aircraft engaged in maritime patrol, to look out for the crew member who had fallen overboard.
At about 4.01 PM on October 27, the ship sighted a stranded fishing boat identified as “Ganga Ganesh” (IND-KA-02-MM-76), located 39 NM west of Tolkeshwar point. Despite the severe weather conditions, the ship managed to approach the stranded vessel and deployed her boarding team. The daring team, comprising one officer and two diving specialists, rescued the entire crew of six in an inflatable craft.
Facing cyclonic winds of 25 to 30 Knots gusting to 35 Knots and wave heights of 3.5 to 4 mtrs during the on-going cyclone “Kyarr” over the east central Arabian sea, ICGS Samrat courageously rescued and saved nine precious lives. All the crew are stable and have been provided with basic supplies. The ship finally entered the Mormugao harbour at about 1.15 PM October 28.
