Indian Coast Guard Rescues Crew of Bulk Carrier Sigma Pearl

The Indian Coast Guard launched a rescue operation on Thursday, October 29, for the crew of the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Sigma Pearl, which ran aground near the Ravva oil field, off Kakinada, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The failure is believed to have been caused by the impact of Cyclone Arnab in the Bay of Bengal. According to Marine Insight, the vessel had six crew members on board, while Trade News headlined its coverage referring to the rescue of 20 seafarers.

The Sigma Pearl is a 32,688 deadweight tonnage vessel, built in 2010, with a length overall of 180 meters, according to Maritime Executive. The vessel had discharged sulfur at the Port of Visakhapatnam and was heading back to Singapore when it suffered a loss of engine power while sailing through the Ravva field area, in the Krishna-Godavari basin. Trade News noted that the vessel is managed by Pioneer Marine.

According to Marine Insight, the vessel departed the Port of Visakhapatnam at around 12:17 am on October 27, after completing the discharge of its cargo, bound for Singapore as the cyclone approached Yanam. Maritime Executive indicated that the vessel attempted to leave the area before the worst of the storm arrived, but began to drift and ended up being pushed toward the coast by strong winds and swells.

The cyclone, described by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as a very severe storm, made landfall on the Andhra Pradesh coast in the early hours of October 28. Marine Insight reported sustained winds of between 125 and 135 km/h with gusts of up to 150 km/h, while Maritime Executive cited winds of between 78 and 84 miles per hour (125 to 135 km/h) and gusts of up to 93 miles per hour (150 km/h). According to the IMD, the landfall process lasted about six hours, until 8 am, at which point the system weakened to a severe cyclonic storm.

For the rescue, the Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and its coastal patrol vessel 'Sujay' to the grounded vessel, while personnel operated from a helipad in the town of Mogalthur, in West Godavari district, with support from local authorities. Marine Insight reported that the tracking platform MarineTraffic had shown the vessel as 'out of range' two days before the rescue operation, and that it has not yet been confirmed whether the crew were evacuated or when the Sigma Pearl will be able to resume its voyage to Singapore. According to the same source, the cyclone left four dead and widespread damage in coastal districts, with thousands of trees and power poles knocked down and crops damaged.