9-man crew saved from cargo vessel stranded off Maldives

According to F. Rymond, the vessel operator, the ship hauling about 240 tonnes of industrial cargo, construction material, onion and vegetables, set out to sea for the Maldives on October 19 from the Thoothukudi old port.

The vessel, ‘MSV Ark of God’ with the Indian crew on board was scheduled to reach the Maldives on October 22.

While the vessel was sailing across, the sea turned rough and the vessel could not withstand the weather conditions.

In the event, the vessel accidentally hit an object, suspected to be a wooden log or a ferrous material, and had sea water entering into the vessel from the reported wreckage.

The incident occurred about 116 nautical miles north off the Maldives around 3.40 am on October 21, sources said.

The situation left the crew stranded on board the vessel. However, it seemed to be a godsend for them when a crew on board a Thoothukudi-bound cargo ship on its way from the Maldives spotted them. They were taken on to the ship, which sailed the rescued crew to Thoothukudi, Rymond said.

The rescued crew men were identified as Jeyendren Iyyathambi, the crew captain, Joseph Leenas Michael, Suresh Iruthayasamy, David Raja Glaiton, Ulstan Clyton, Rajesh Xavier, Selvam Gnanam, Viglis and Micheal Gnana Chitan.

The condition of the recued crew members is said to be stable.