Yemeni vessel capsizes off Pipavav coast, crew rescued

Mahipat Zala, police sub-inspector (PSI) of Pipava Marine Police said MV Ayman capsized around 12 nautical miles off Pipava coast.

A Yemen flagged vessel on its way to Alang-Sosiya Ship Recycling Yard capsized off Pipava coast in Amreli district while another ran aground early on Saturday morning even as marine police and Indian Coast Guard rescued all the 11 crew members aboard.

The ICG station in Pipava got a message of VHF saying a vessel named MV Ayman had started listing on its side and that its crew were in danger. Similarly, the police also were told that another vessel named MV Abdulla, also flying a Yemeni flag, had run aground in the vicinity.

After receiving the distress call at 10:35 am from Pipavav port officials, the Pipavav Marine Police launched its two patrolling boats and rescued three crew members who were on board the sinking MV Ayman and eight others aboard the stranded MV Abdullah.

“We have rescued all the 17 crew members of the twin vessels. The vessels were going towards Alang for being dismantled. We are waiting for further details,” superintendent of police (SP) of Amreli district, Antrip Sood told The Indian Express over phone.

Mahipat Zala, police sub-inspector (PSI) of Pipava Marine Police said MV Ayman capsized around 12 nautical miles off Pipava coast.

“The twin vessels had reached end of their lives and were on their way to Alang. However, they had lowered their anchors away from the coast for the last two days as formalities of allowing them entry to Alang yard were being performed. As the vessel was old, water started accumulating on the dock of MV Ayman and it started started listing. MV Abdulla also started drifting as the sea had turned rough due to windy conditions and ran aground,” the PSI, who was supervising the rescue operation, said.

The crew members, who are from different countries, were brought to shore at around 5 pm and were taken to Pipavav Marine Police station. ICG officials in Pipava said 10 of the crew members were Pakistani nationals, five Yemenii and one each from India and Iraq.

However, Commandant of ICG Pipavav station, Atul Saxena said there was no concrete information available about the twin vessels. “We have been told they were vessels but don’t know what they were loaded with and as to where they were headed. While MV Ayman has capsized 8.5 nautical miles off Shiyal Bet, the other has run aground. We have sent our team to the spot again to see if there is any oil leakage,” said Saxena.

Gujarat Maritime Boar (GMB) officials posted in Alang confirmed the the vessel had sunk.

“Formally, we have no record of the vessels coming to Alang for recycling. But through Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS), we have come to know that they were headed for Alang,” a top officer of Alang yard said.

Source:: Indian Express