The Indian Coast Guard successfully rescued 19 people, including 18 Indians and an Ethiopian national, from Motor Tanker Parth, a Gabon-flagged vessel that sank on Friday evening 41 nautical miles off the Ratnagiri coast. The 102-metre-long vessel, which was en route to New Mangalore from Khor Fakkan in UAE, reported flooding at 9.23 am. Within minutes of receiving the distress call, the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai swung into action. Two Coast Guard ships, Sujeet and Apoorva, which were patrolling in the area, were diverted to help the vessel Parth. Coast Guard IG (west) Manoj Baadkar told The Indian Express that ingress of water in one of the compartments led to the flooding. The Indian Coast Guard successfully rescued 19 persons from the sea near Ratnagiri, including 18 Indians and their Ethiopian Master from Motor Tanker Parth, a Gabon-flagged vessel. Watch Express Video pic.twitter.com/3NYs86koif — Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) September 16, 2022 International Safety Net and NAVTEX warnings were relayed to alert other merchant vessels in area. A Coast Guard advanced light helicopter was deployed and the container ship MV Wadi Bani Khalid was directed to assist the 2008-built vessel. Parth was carrying Asphalt Bitumen 3911 MT and experienced flooding in the water ballast tanks. The crew abandoned the vessel when they felt the vessel was likely to sink. MV Wadi Bani Khalid arrived at the spot at 12.30 pm and Coast Guard ship Sujeet arrived at the same time. The CG Advanced Light Helicopter, too, arrived in the area and began rescue operations. The fisheres department alerted all fishermen about oil pollution from Devgad to Malvan areas.
