A specialized damage control team from the Indian Coast Guard successfully managed to address flooding concerns on a product tanker off the northeastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. The Chinese-owned vessel, named Sea Gull 9, was being towed to a secure anchorage near Paradip for further repairs after it reported uncontrolled flooding.
The distress call regarding Sea Gull 9, which has a deadweight tonnage of 11,131, was received early on Saturday, September 27. At that time, the tanker was approximately 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip, experiencing a main engine failure. Built in 1998 and registered in Belize, the vessel is 127 meters (417 feet) long and had a crew of 23 on board, carrying 9,000 metric tons of palm oil from Malaysia to Paradip.
In response to the emergency, the Coast Guard deployed the patrol boat ICGS Vishwast along with a damage control team. They utilized submersible de-flooding pumps to halt the leak, blanked two damaged seawater pipelines, and contained a third fractured line, effectively preventing the vessel from sinking.
A pollution control vessel and another patrol boat were dispatched, and an aircraft conducted an aerial survey, identifying an oil sheen believed to be from the palm oil cargo. Subsequent assessments confirmed the sheen had dissipated by September 28. The Paradip Port Authority also sent a tug, the Dolphin, to assist Sea Gull 9, which is now safely anchored while the Coast Guard continues to monitor the situation.
