Survivor relives ordeal by water

KOCHI, Oct 3: Purushothman, one of the five survivors of the shipwreck caused by collision in the Strait of Malacca off Singapore, sits qui...

KOCHI, Oct 3: Purushothman, one of the five survivors of the shipwreck caused by collision in the Strait of Malacca off Singapore, sits quiet, visibly shocked and grieved. Though deeply saddened by the deaths of his companions, with whom he had been celebrating only moments before the disaster, he is grateful to God for having rescued him.

Purushothaman had joined the ill-fated ICL Vikraman, owned by Chennai-based India Cements Ltd, as an electricity officer on September 9. Carrying a full load of steel cargo weighing 55,000 tonnes and 34 crew members, the ship was sailing towards Singapore from Antwerp in Belgium. However, 120 km away from Port Dickson, the vessel crashed into Mount One of Panama on the starboard side, split into two and sank in just two minutes.

“It happened at about 10 pm on September 26. We were all celebrating that evening as nine of us were going to sign off the ship at Singapore, where it was scheduled to dock the next day. After dinner I returned to my cabin for a change of clothing when I felt a sharp jerk. After hurriedly changing into jeans and T-shirt, I tried to reach out for my lifejacket but failed to grab it as the ship had already begun to tilt,” recounts PurushothamanWhen he came out of his cabin, he saw that the ship had already begun to sink. Purushothaman, along with the second and third engineers, reached the alleyway. He asked the second engineer, who was accompanied by his wife and two-year-old son, to escape with his family. Meanwhile, Purushothaman and the third engineer Biju, who did not know how to swim, climbed onto the Captain’s deck.

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Seeing a lifebuoy floating by, Purushothaman jumped into the sea, grabbed the buoy and holding it asked his companion to jump. Biju did so but he failed to surface. Seeing no way out, Purushothaman got into the lifebuoy and strapped himself in. “The time then was 10.15 pm. I remained floating till 4.15 am, soaked and slippery with oil from the wrecked ship. The sea was turbulent and I could not remain in the same place. I might have floated for another six miles. But I tried to stay within the arc of the light switched on by Mount One and another Burmese ship which rescued four of the crew after it received our distress signal,” he informs.

Purushothaman was rescued by a naval ship which got the frantic message transmitted by ICL Vikraman minutes before it sank without a trace. His shipmates Karthik (Cadet), Bharani (Radio Officer), Kamraj (Second Engineer) and his wife Neelima, were rescued by the Burmese ship after a three-hour search. Kamraj and Neelima could not rescue their son.

The death of his shipmates, especially Biju, has deeply pained Purushothaman. At the same time, he cannot thank God enough for blessing him with a second life. “I have been on a ship for the last 15 years and this is my first experience of a shipwreck. I was floating in a dangerous area for more than six hours. All I could do was pray and leave my life in God’s hands. And God was kind,” he says.

Even after this ordeal, Purushothaman has no immediate plans to bid goodbye to the ocean. “I have lost all my papers and certificates and will have to prepare them afresh. But I cannot think of leaving my job.It is the only work I know,” he asserts.