Panama-Flagged Cargo Ship Sinks Off Odisha Coast; Two of 24 Crew Rescued

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier, MV Ocean Winner, sank in the Bay of Bengal on 22 August 2026 roughly 240 nautical miles from the Paradip coast in Odisha. The vessel carried 24 crew members: 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar and one from Bangladesh.

The Indian Coast Guard received a report of lost communication at 1148 hours. A commercial tanker, MT Aisopos, recovered two survivors from life rafts around 2000 hours. Search operations for the remaining 22 continue with Coast Guard ships Varad, Anmol and Vijay, supported by Indian Navy assets.

The ship had departed Paradip with a cargo of iron ore bound for Singapore. The cause of the sinking has not been established. Weather conditions and structural factors remain under investigation.

Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre authorities alerted all vessels in the vicinity to assist. The two rescued sailors were reported alive; their medical status and the condition of the missing have not been detailed publicly.

Iron ore shipments from eastern Indian ports form a regular traffic lane toward Southeast Asia. Sudden losses of this scale remain rare but place immediate pressure on search-and-rescue capacity in the Bay of Bengal during monsoon season.

Further updates are expected as the search area is refined and additional vessels report findings.