Nov 18: Alondra Rainbow, which was hijacked last Sunday, is being towed in from the northern direction by two Coast Guard ships and is expected to enter Mumbai harbour in the next two days.According to Coast Guard officials, offshore patrol vessel CGS Veera and CGS Anne Besant have been engaged to tow the 8,000-odd tonnes dwt vessel for more than 220 nautical miles towards Mumbai. This is in addition to the 4,000 tonnes of aluminium ignots in its hold, officials added.Alondra Rainbow was rescued from pirates after a 48-hour-long drama with the Coast Guard. The 10 pirates finally surrendered but not before setting Alondra Rainbow ablaze. The vessel's engine room was damaged in the fire due to which the cabin was flooded.Teams from the Indian Navy ships Delhi and Gomati and Coast Guard ship Veera were then deployed to stop the M V Alondro Rainbow from sinking. Additional pumps and salvage equipment were also embarked aboard the ship to salvage it. Deflooding the cabin was necessary before towing the ship. After a hard fight to check flooding, salvage teams finally succeeded and the towing began."However," said a senior Coast Guard official, "the speed could be as low as 3 knots. A lot depends on the sea condition and if the sea is calm the towing could be easy."The drama started on when M V Alondra Rainbow was spotted off the Kanyakumari coast on November 13. Patrol boat CGS Tarabai trailed the hijacked vessel before she was joined by CGS Annie Besant.The two patrol boats and two Dornier aircraft fired more than 103 rounds as warning shots to bring the ship to a halt. In the meantime CGS Veera was ordered to steam towards the hijacked vessel.Even as the drama was on at high seas, the Coast Guard operation room, who were monitoring the operation for more than 48 hours, sent out a signal to any naval ship in the area on November 14.Naval missile boat INS Prahaar, which was about 150 nautical miles on the same track, responded to the call and she joined the flotilla around 8.30 pm the same evening. The ship's fire power added to salvo, which was already directed on the Alondra Rainbow, sources revealed. It was before long the hijackers decided to surrender.
