Overview
- The Belize‑flagged MT Seagull 9 sent a distress call after main engine failure and rapid ballast‑tank flooding caused a dangerous list about 37 nautical miles east‑southeast of Paradip on Sunday.
- ICGS Vishwast dispatched a specialist damage‑control team that boarded the tanker, deployed submersible de‑flooding pumps, blanked two damaged seawater pipelines and contained a third fractured line.
- Coordinated cargo‑transfer and de‑flooding operations stabilised the vessel, the Paradip Port Authority tug Dolphin took the tanker under tow to anchorage, and Coast Guard technicians began repairing the main engine.
- An ICG Dornier aircraft and diverted Pollution Control Vessel and Offshore Patrol Vessel conducted aerial and surface surveillance, finding a minor palm‑oil sheen had dissipated while pollution‑response protocols remain active.
- The episode follows other recent maritime incidents near Paradip, including the August sinking of MV Ocean Winner, and has drawn attention to mechanical failures, anchorage risks and the ICG’s damage‑control and monitoring role.