Coast Guard rescues crew members of stranded fishing boat

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued 10 crew members of a fishing boat from Kochi that was stranded in the Arabian sea off Porbandar coast of Gujarat after an engine breakdown.

The barge, V Matha 2, which had set sail from Kochi on January 3, suffered an engine breakdown and was stranded in the Arabian sea off Porbandar coast, the ICG said in a press release today.

The boat somehow managed to communicate with the passing Panama-flagged vessel MT Ocean Gas on radio frequency for assistance, which in turn, alerted Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Mumbai, it said.

The MRCC then contacted ICG in Gandhinagar on February 12 after which Coast Guard ship Arush was rushed to assist the fishermen and the boat stranded in deep sea, it said.

"The stranded fishing boat had apparently raised a Panama-flagged vessel MT Ocean Gas on VHF for assistance, reportedly for an engine breakdown. The Coast Guard coordination network reacted to the far cry of this boat stranded about 142 NM West of Porbandar," it said.

The rescue vessel reached the spot late afternoon on February 12, and towed the boat to Porbandar coast after almost 30 hours as its engine was seized due to lack of lubrication, it said.

"Basic medical aid was provided to an unwell crew by the ICG ship's medical team. The said boat, with 10 crew of mixed regional backgrounds, revealed they had been at sea since January 3 and touched the Veraval port on February 4 for routine replenishment," the release said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)