Paradip: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued a distressed foreign-flagged tanker after its main engine failed and a ballast tank rapidly flooded, leaving the vessel at risk of capsizing off the Odisha coast, an official said Monday.
The Belize-flagged MT Seagull 9, carrying 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil and 23 crew members, issued a distress call around 7.30 am on September 27 when the engine failure and rapid flooding caused the vessel to tilt dangerously.
The ICG immediately deployed ICGS Vishwast to the site, located around 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip. A specialised ICG Damage Control Team boarded the unstable tanker and used submersible de-flooding pumps and other equipment to control the situation, ICG sources said.
The team arrested the leakage, blanked two damaged seawater pipelines and contained a third fractured line, sources said.
A Pollution Control Vessel and an additional Offshore Patrol Vessel were also diverted to the area to strengthen pollution-response measures and maintain round-the-clock surveillance.
Simultaneous cargo-transfer and de-flooding operations, carried out by the ICG team in coordination with the tanker’s crew, stabilised the vessel and averted the risk of capsizing, sources said.
An ICG Dornier aircraft was deployed from Bhubaneswar for aerial surveillance.
A minor palm-oil sheen spotted near the tanker on Sunday had completely dissipated by Monday during follow-up aerial sorties, he said, adding that strict pollution-response protocols remained in place.
The Paradip Port Authority tug Dolphin later took the stabilised tanker in tow towards the anchorage area off Paradip.
Repairs to the tanker’s main engine are underway with assistance from the technical team of ICGS Vishwast, the sources added.
