Bangladesh Sailor Among 24 Missing After Ship Sinks off India’s Odisha Coast

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier, MV Ocean Winner, has sunk near India’s Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal. The vessel was carrying 24 crew members, of whom two have been rescued alive while 22 remain missing. A joint search and rescue operation by the Indian Coast Guard and Navy is underway. Of the 24 crew members, 20 are Chinese nationals, three are from Myanmar and one is from Bangladesh. The identity of the Bangladeshi sailor has not yet been disclosed.
According to Indian media and government sources, the 225-metre-long MV Ocean Winner was carrying around 72,100 metric tonnes of iron ore. The vessel departed Paradip Port in Odisha for Singapore at 10:42pm on August 20. At 11:48am on Saturday (August 22), the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Sri Vijaya Puram received information that contact with the vessel had been lost. Victory Star Group Co. Ltd., the company associated with the vessel, informed the authorities and requested assistance in rescuing the crew. The Indian Coast Guard subsequently launched a search operation in the vessel’s suspected location. A nearby commercial vessel, MT Isopos, was also engaged in the rescue effort. At around 8pm on Saturday, the vessel rescued two crew members alive from two life rafts.
The ship sank approximately 240 nautical miles, or about 444 kilometres, from the Paradip coast. Two Indian Coast Guard vessels, Varad and Anmol, have been deployed for the search. Later, another vessel named Bijit from Sri Vijaya Puram also joined the operation. According to several reports, contact with the vessel was lost after its Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal stopped transmitting. However, the exact cause of the sinking remains unknown. Authorities are also investigating whether the vessel had sent any distress signal before sinking.
The Indian Coast Guard and Navy have alerted other vessels operating in the area to assist in the search and rescue operation. Efforts to locate and rescue the 22 missing crew members are continuing. Officials said further details about the cause of the sinking and the last known locations of the missing sailors are expected to emerge after the rescue operation and investigation are completed.

Sources: NDTV, Reuters, PTI, India Today