On August 29, Indian navy assisted a Norwegian ship in distress, stuck in piracy infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
What happened?
The Indian Navy helped a Norwegian ship manned by an all Indian crew, to retrieve its cable chain and port anchor that had slipped into the Arabian Sea in the piracy infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
The warship ‘INS Teg’ of Western Naval Command, was despatched to the spot to help retrieve the Norwegian vessel ‘M.V. Vela’s’ 330 metres long cable chain and port anchor weighing a staggering 42 tonnes that had slipped into the sea.
Ship in distress
The vessel was severely disabled since her speed was restricted to five-six knots, making her vulnerable to attacks by pirates in that region. Besides it also posed a serious navigational hazard to itself and other vessels in the dense commercial shipping corridor.
Anchor recovered
The INS Teg mobilised its specialists team which quickly assessed the situation and launched a massive operation to recover the hanging anchor and chain cable of the M.V. Vela, owned by Seven Sea SA, Norway and Fleet Management Ltd. Hong Kong.
The team was led by the Engineering Officer, Seamanship Instructor, Anchor Chain Cable Specialist and Machinery Specialist among others, the team took more than three days to safely recover the entire cable and the hanging port anchor.
Gratitude expressed
The vessel resumed its onward voyage, subsequently through the constricted waters of Red Sea and Suez Canal, and also managed to avert huge financial losses.
The Norwegian owners of the vessel gratefully acknowledged Indian Navy’s help and contribution in the operations, terming it as conforming to the best maritime traditions, worthy for emulation by other mariners.
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Source: NDTV
