Panama-Flagged Bulk Carrier Sinks Off India Leaving 22 Crew Members Missing

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier sank in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast, India. 22 of its 24 crew members have been missing after a tanker rescued 2 from liferafts.

MV Ocean Winner, a bulk carrier carrying 72,100 metric tonnes of iron ore fines, left Paradip Port in Odisha late evening on August 20th, according to the Indian Coast Guard.

The 225-metre-long and 32.26-metre-wide bulk carrier was built in 1998, and the ship’s tracking system showed Singapore as its next port of call, but India’s shipping minister said the vessel was taking the cargo to China.

The Indian Coast Guard said the crew consisted of 20 Chinese nationals, 3 from Myanmar, and 1 from Bangladesh.

The vessel’s operator had asked for search-and-rescue assistance after it lost contact with the vessel after it left Paradip Port.

Coast Guard officials issued an International Safety Net protocol following the alert, directing merchant vessels in the area to assist in the search.

The Indian Navy diverted a surveillance aircraft to help locate the crew. The commercial tanker MT Aisopos recovered two survivors, one each from separate life rafts, at about 8 p.m. IST on August 22. 3 Indian Coast Guard ships joined the surface search for the missing crew.

Medical teams provided assistance to the 2 survivors. Their identities and ranks are still unknown.

Paradip Port, a key hub for exporting iron ore on India’s eastern coast, has a constant stream of bulk carriers heading for markets in East Asia and Southeast Asia.

The Coast Guard has conducted similar rescue operations for foundering cargo vessels in the Bay of Bengal earlier, including for MV ITT Puma, which sank near Sagar Island in West Bengal in August 2024.

The exact cause of the sinking of the MV Ocean Winner is undetermined, and the Coast Guard has not mentioned whether weather, mechanical failure or other factors were involved.

All agencies are working in close coordination and are actively involved in search and rescue efforts, according to the shipping minister of India.

Reference: ndtv / TOI