Panama-Flagged Bulk Carrier Sinks Off Odisha Coast; 22 Crew Members Still Missing

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier sank in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast on Saturday, leaving 22 of its 24 crew members still missing more than 30 hours later.

The vessel, MV Ocean Winner, was carrying approximately 72,000 tonnes of iron ore fines loaded at Paradip Port. It had departed on August 21 bound for Singapore or China and was last reported more than 200 nautical miles offshore before disappearing from tracking systems.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Sri Vijaya Puram received a report of lost communication at 1148 hours on Saturday and activated search and rescue. The commercial vessel MT Aisopos, diverted to the area, recovered two survivors from separate life rafts around 2000 hours.

The crew consisted of 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmarese and one Bangladeshi. The two rescued were Chinese. The remaining 18 Chinese, three Myanmarese and one Bangladeshi have not been located.

Indian Coast Guard and Navy ships continue intensive operations in the area. The ship measured 225 metres in length and had a deadweight capacity of about 72,928 tonnes. Experts have pointed to possible cargo liquefaction of the iron ore fines as a factor that can cause sudden loss of stability.

One report indicated the vessel sank within about eight minutes. Communication was lost and the ship vanished from the Automatic Identification System.

Paradip is one of India's largest ports for bulk commodities, regularly handling iron ore, coal and mineral cargoes for international bulk carriers. The incident has drawn attention to the risks of moisture content in iron ore fines cargoes during monsoon-season loading.

Search efforts remain under way. Families of the missing crew are awaiting further information from the operators and Indian authorities coordinating the response.

The two survivors are being assisted. No additional recoveries had been confirmed by late Monday.