On Christmas morning, the Coast Guard District Headquarters (Kerala and Mahe) received a call from the merchant vessel BW Larissa alerting it to a case of flooding and main engine failure taking place onboard the MSV Asian Star about 58 nautical miles (107km) off Azhikkal, Kannur.
Shortly after, the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Savitribai Phule was diverted to render assistance. By 4.00 pm, Savitribai Phule reached the damaged vessel and sent a damage control team and a technical team to control the flooding. It took just an hour and a half to restore the main engine and control the flooding.
The incident, details of which were provided by the Press Information Bureau, highlights the successful cooperation between merchants ships, the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC), the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and the Indian Coast Guard.
When the helpful crew of the BW Larissa alerted the MRSC to the Asian Star's plight, they were told to maintain their position in the vicinity of the vessel in distress. They provided constant updates on the Asian Star's status, while MRSC contacted MRCC (Mumbai) and diverted ICGS Savitribai to the rescue.
By 5.00 am, MSV Asian Star had reached its intended port of Mangaluru.
This was not the first time that ICGS Savitribai had come to the rescue. In 2017, they rescued all eight crew members of the sinking MSV Sumithra, which was going under off the Androth island in Lakshadweep.
In 2018, they rescued a fishing boat with 11 crew members onboard that had gone adrift 18 nautical miles off Surathkal.
