the rescue of the MV Jindal Kamakshi and its crew, local media. Followingfour more merchant ships have issued distress signals after being battered by strong winds and heavy rains caused by a deep depression in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of India, according to

The cement carrier MV Coastal Pride has sunk some 24 nautical miles south of Daman. Indian Navy and Coast Guard sent out three helicopters to airlift 14 crew members from the sinking vessel. Six crewmen were airlifted before the ship sank, while the remaining eight were plucked from the sea. All of the crewmembers are reportedly unharmed, and have been transported to Umar Gaon.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC) received a call that the container ship MOL Cosmos lost 20 containers some 22 nautical miles off Mumbai on June 22. The boxship was en route from Saudi Arabia’s port of Dammam to Singapore.

Another boxship, TCI Arjun, has reportedly lost 5 containers in the storm. MRCC Mumbai has warned the vessels sailing through the area to keep a lookout on the drifting containers, saying that they are likely to come ashore in the following days.

The fourth ship is reportedly drifting unmanned. The unidentified ship was being towed from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi, when the towline broke off Veraval in Gujarat.

The attempts to reconnect the towline have been unsuccessful due to adverse weather conditions. The Indian Coast Guard is currently monitoring the vessel, and is ready to assist should the vessel start drifting towards the shore.

The depression over the northeast and adjoining east central Arabian Sea moved slightly eastwards and was centered about 160 miles southwest of Porbandar as of yesterday.

Squally wind speeds reaching up to 40 mph are expected to prevail along and off Gujarat and north Maharashtra coast during the next 24 hours. The fishermen have been advised not to venture out into seas over the next two days.

The Indian Navy helped evacuate all 20 crew from a sinking containership off Mumbai early Monday.

India’s Ministry of Defence said that the Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Mumbai) received a distress call Sunday night at approximately 11:00 p.m. from the Indian-flagged MV Jindal Kamakshi reporting that the vessel was listing by about 20 degrees.

The vessel underway from Mundra to Kochi with 20 crew members and was located about 100 kilometers from Mumbai when it sent out the distress call. With weather deteriorating, the ship anchored about 25 kilometers from Vasai creek, just north of Mumbai.

An initial overflight by the Indian Navy determined that immediate assistance was not required. By 6:15 a.m. however, strong winds, rain and heavy seas worsened the condition of the vessel, and the Captain requested assistance in evacuating the crew.

All 19 crew were airlifted from the vessel by Navy helicopter and brought to the guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, which had just arrive on scene. The Captain was eventually hoisted by a Coast Guard helicopter launched from Mumbai.

The MV Jindal Kamakshi remained at anchor and abandoned as of Monday night, the Ministry of Defence reported.

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Photos courtesy India Ministry of Defence via Facebook



