India never replied to SoS,say crewmen

For four days,as the MT Pavit tossed and turned in the open seas,its engine dead,those aboard wondered if help would ever arrive.

For four days,as the MT Pavit tossed and turned in the open seas,its engine dead,those aboard wondered if help would ever arrive,their message to the Indian Coast Guard having remained unanswered. By the time help did come from the United Kingdom,even the seasoned crewmembers had fallen seasick,some of them vomiting blood,two of them even fainting.

For a month later,the crew kept thinking that their ship had sunk. It was only when it beached on Mumbai that anyone realised how far,and how long,it had kept drifting.

When the SoS was sent to the Coast Guard,India’s shores were only 600 nautical miles from the spot in the Gulf of Oman where the engine had packed up. The only response the ship got was,instead,from the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre of Falmouth Coast Guard,crewmembers now say.

In the four days it took the rescue team to arrive,the crew had lost all hope of survival “All of us had lost hope once seawater had started entering through the propellor shaft,” says Akash Dwivedi,the ship’s oiler,one of the four members from UP in an all-Indian crew of 13.

Dwivedi,now at his Ashiana residence,says “the Indian authorities never responded although we were approximately 600 nautical miles away”. Oman was only 200 nautical miles away and did not respond either.

The vessel was returning to Dubai after a mission in South Africa when the engine failed on June 26,four days after setting sail. Captain Ajay Singh first informed Dubai-based Prime Tanker,the company with which the ship is attached,says Navneet Upadhyay,chief officer,who is now at home in Varanasi “We informed the company that the engine could not be repaired,” echoes Amrendra Singh,the ship’s engineer,now in Azamgarh.

The captain sent messages the Coast Guards of Oman,Dubai,India and the UK. The UK unit got back and asked for its location. But it would be a long wait. “For four days,the ship kept drifting towards the open sea. It was rolling. Crew members were vomiting blood. says Vivek Chowdhary,able shipman,now in Bijnore.

Story continues below this ad

A UK ship arrived on June 30. A helicopter transferred the crew to MT Jag Pushpa,which was on its way to India.

Since then,a probe has been ordered into the communication gap. No one has contacted the crew yet,its members from UP say.