The braves of the Indian Coast Guard rescues the crew of a distressed vessel. According to ICG sources, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) of the Indian coastguard at Mumbai received information from the DG COMM centre on 21 July afternoon about MV Kanchan stranded off Umargam, Gujarat with 12 Indian crew on board, due to contamination in fuel, thereby rendering the engine non-operational and no electrical power onboard.
The weather in the area was inclement with winds gusting up to 50 Knots and waves reaching up to the height of 3-3.5 Meters.
Later in the evening, the master of the vessel intimated that MV Kanchan, which was carrying steel coils as cargo, had dropped anchor and was listing/ tilting towards the starboard (right) side.
MRCC Mumbai instantly activated the International Safety Net (ISN) to identify all the vessels in the vicinity to assist the stranded vessel MV Kanchan.
MV Hermeez in the vicinity was quick to respond and immediately diverted towards the distressed vessel. Braving rough seas, MV Hermeez safely evacuated all the 12 crew of MV Kanchan in a daring night operation on 21 Jul 2021.
Simultaneously, ETV Water Lilly was deployed by DG Shipping to assist the stranded vessel and arrived in the area at 7 am on 22 Jul. The CG helicopter from Daman also undertook an aerial recce of the area. However, the distressed vessel was not sighted and presumably sunk in position. Oil sheen and debris were sighted by the CG helicopter and ETV. DG Shipping has issued a notice under Sec 356 J of the MS Act 1958 to the Master and Owner of MV Kanchan for the prevention of oil pollution in the area.
