The Belize-flagged chemical tanker MT Seagull 9 has been safely berthed at Paradip Port after the Indian Coast Guard and port authorities responded to engine failure and flooding that left the vessel listing off India’s Odisha coast.
The tanker issued a distress call at about 7:30 a.m. on 27 September while approximately 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip. It was carrying about 9,000 tonnes of palm oil with 23 crew members aboard. Paradip Port Authority information indicated that water entering the ballast tanks had caused a list of about 10 degrees.
ICGS Vishwast was sent to the tanker, where a Coast Guard damage-control team boarded and began emergency work. The team deployed submersible pumps, stopped the leakage, sealed two damaged seawater pipelines and contained a third fractured line. The intervention stabilised the vessel and removed the immediate risk of capsizing.
The Coast Guard also deployed a Pollution Control Vessel, another Offshore Patrol Vessel and Dornier aircraft to support monitoring around the tanker. A small palm-oil sheen observed near the vessel on 27 September was no longer visible during aerial surveillance the following day.
Paradip Port Authority harbour tug Dolphin 25 subsequently established a tow and brought the tanker toward Paradip. The port authority said MT Seagull 9 later entered the harbour with limited assistance from its engine and was secured at the NQ2 berth at around 4 p.m. on 28 September.
MT Seagull 9 is a 1998-built chemical tanker with a deadweight of 11,131 dwt and an overall length of 127.5 m. The vessel is registered under the Belize flag.
