The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued a distressed foreign chemical tanker that developed an engine failure and rapid ballast tank flooding about 37 nautical miles (about 68.5 km) east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, an official said on Monday (September 28, 2026).
The Belize-flagged MT Seagull 9, carrying 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil with 23 crew members on board, issued an urgent distress call at about 7.30 a.m. on Sunday (September 27, 2026) after its main engine failed and its ballast tank flooded rapidly, causing the vessel to tilt dangerously, the official said.
The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Vishwast was immediately dispatched to the scene, and an ICG damage control team boarded the unstable vessel under challenging conditions, said Commandant Amit Uniyal, the ICG’s Chief Public Relations Officer. Using submersible de-flooding pumps and damage-control equipment, the team arrested the leakage, blanked two damaged seawater pipelines and contained a third fractured line, he said.
To reinforce the operation, the ICG also diverted a pollution control vessel and an additional offshore patrol vessel to the location for pollution response and round-the-clock monitoring, Commandant Uniyal said. Through coordination between the team from ICGS Vishwast and the vessel’s crew, cargo transfer and de-flooding operations were carried out simultaneously, stabilising the tanker and eliminating the threat of capsizing, he added.
An ICG Dornier aircraft was also launched from Bhubaneswar for real-time aerial surveillance. A minor palm oil sheen observed near the vessel on Sunday (September 27, 2026) had fully dissipated by the time of follow-up aerial sorties on Monday (September 28, 2026), Commandant Uniyal said. Pollution-response protocols remain in place to safeguard the marine ecosystem, he said.
The Paradip Port Authority tug Dolphin subsequently took the stabilised MT Seagull 9 under tow towards the anchorage area off Paradip. Repairs to the main engine are under way with assistance from the technical team of ICGS Vishwast.
Published – September 28, 2026 04:46 pm IST
