VISAKHAPATNAM: Two crew members of MV Ocean Winner, a Panama-flagged cargo vessel carrying around 71,000 metric tonnes of iron ore from Paradip Port, were rescued after it sent a distress alert around 700 km east of Visakhapatnam, triggering a joint search and rescue operation by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.
The distress alert was received on August 22, following which an Indian Navy P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, which was on a surveillance sortie, was redeployed for the search and rescue mission in coordination with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Sri Vijaya Puram.
The Navy aircraft located liferafts in the area and coordinated with MT Aisopos, a merchant vessel transiting nearby, requesting it to assist the crew. By late evening on August 22, MT Aisopos had rescued two of the 24 crew members from the liferafts. The Indian Navy continues to coordinate closely with the Indian Coast Guard in the search operation.