MV Ocean-Winner Sinks Off Odisha Coast; 2 Crew Rescued, 22 Missing

Two of the 24 crew members aboard the Panama-flagged cargo vessel MV Ocean-Winner were rescued after the ship sank in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have launched a joint search operation for the remaining 22 crew members.

The vessel sank around 240 nautical miles off Odisha on August 22. It had departed Paradip Port on August 20 at around 10:30 PM, carrying nearly 1,700 tonnes of iron ore to Singapore.

The crew included 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Sri Vijaya Puram received a distress alert at 11:48 AM on August 22 after the vessel lost contact.

The Indian Search and Rescue network activated a rescue operation, while the Indian Navy deployed a P-8I aircraft to locate the vessel and liferafts.

The Navy aircraft spotted a liferaft and coordinated with nearby merchant tanker MT AISOPOS, which diverted to assist.

The tanker later rescued two crew members from separate liferafts.

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard are continuing the search for the remaining crew.

The Coast Guard deployed ICGS Varad and ICGS Anmol, while ICGS Vijit sailed from Sri Vijaya Puram to strengthen the rescue operation.

Authorities have, however, alerted other vessels in the area and asked them to assist in the search.

The cause of the vessel’s sinking remains under investigation.

Rescue agencies continue to monitor the operation as efforts to locate the missing crew members remain underway.

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