Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar and his team went ahead with their 2025 rescue mission, unfazed by LPG vapours, toxic smoke and intense heat onboard the tanker, apart from other problems.

Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar and his team went ahead with their 2025 rescue mission, unfazed by LPG vapours, toxic smoke and intense heat onboard the tanker, apart from other problems.

Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar and his team went ahead with their 2025 rescue mission, unfazed by LPG vapours, toxic smoke and intense heat onboard the tanker, apart from other problems.

The very sight of a burning LPG tanker at sea is enough to send even the bravest people running. Yet, one man bravely led a team through one such ship, multiple times, in dangerous waters.

This is the story of Lieutenant Commander Shivam Kumar, who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for exceptional gallantry.

The mission that earned him the Shaurya Chakra

The story dates back to October 18, 2025, when Kumar had been serving as the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence (NBCD) Officer onboard the INS Trikand, when it received a distress signal from an attacked tanker.

The Indian Navy warship was directed to assist the MT Falcon (IMO: 9014432), a Cameroon-flagged LPG tanker, which suffered a major explosion and a raging fire onboard after it was attacked by Houthis.

Thick flames emerged from the tanker, with the LPG reserves onboard threatening to blow up its 26 crew members, of which 25 were Indian, and one was British.

24 crew members were rescued amid firefighting attempts alongside a tug contracted by the owner of the tanker, while two were missing, believed to be trapped onboard.

Yet, Kumar and his team boarded the ship, by which time it was filled with LPG vapours, toxic smoke and intense heat. What further complicated the issue was the fact that the operation took place within the Houthi Attack Zone, leaving the vessel doubly vulnerable.

Despite the damaged bulkheads, weakened decks, clogged passageways and the risk of the ship either exploding, sinking, or both, Kumar led his team in and out of the ship multiple times to find the missing people.

Continuously evaluating risks in real time, the courageous crew finally found the remains of the two missing crew members, which were extracted from the MT Falcon without incident, and handed over to the Embassy of India in Djibouti.

These actions, undertaken at immense personal risk and far beyond the normal call of duty, not only brought immense credit to him, but also enhanced the stature of the Indian Navy as a capable and dependable maritime force operating under demanding circumstances, the citation for him read.

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