A Panama-flagged bulk cargo ship has gone down in the rough waters of the Bay of Bengal, approximately 407 kilometres away from the Indian shoreline. Following a distress call, the Indian Coast Guard managed to rescue two members of the crew, but the vast majority remain unaccounted for. There were 24 people on board the vessel in total, consisting of 20 nationals from China, 3 from Myanmar, and 1 from Bangladesh. Security forces have drastically ramped up search and rescue operations across the marine area, though neither the missing 22 crew members nor the wreckage of the carrier has been located yet. Measuring 225 metres in length and 32.26 metres in width, the 28-year-old bulk carrier had a deadweight capacity of 73,000 tonnes.
The Initial Distress and Loss of Contact
After losing contact with the bulk carrier M.V. Ocean Winner in the Andaman Sea, the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard swiftly launched an extensive search and rescue mission. Out of the 24 individuals aboard, two were safely pulled from the water using liferafts by a passing tanker, MT AISOPOS. Official records show that MRCC Sri Vijayapuram received the first notification about the severed communication with M.V. Ocean Winner at roughly 11:48 AM on August 22. Once the operating company appealed for assistance in locating the vessel, Indian authorities initiated immediate countermeasures to scan the region.
Rescue of Two Crew Members via Liferafts
The final recorded position of the cargo ship placed it roughly 310 nautical miles away from East Island Light. Following this alert, an Indian Navy P-8I surveillance aircraft was dispatched to sweep the designated maritime zone. During the aerial search, the aircraft spotted several liferafts drifting in the open sea and promptly relayed the coordinates to the relevant agencies. This prompted the nearby tanker MT AISOPOS to alter its course toward the liferafts. By approximately 8:00 PM on August 22, the tanker successfully rescued two crew members from separate rafts. Despite this breakthrough, the remaining 22 individuals have not been found, and sweeping operations continue intensively.
Coast Guard Deploys Multiple Vessels
To intensify the ongoing operation, the Indian Coast Guard deployed ICGS Varad, ICGS Anmol, and ICGS Vijit to the disaster zone. Joint teams of naval ships, coast guard vessels, and aircraft are conducting synchronized sweeps across the sector. Records indicate that M.V. Ocean Winner departed from its last port of call at Paradip in Odisha, with its next scheduled destination set as Singapore. Maritime agencies are investigating whether severe sea conditions played a role in severing communications as they race against time to trace the missing personnel.
Built in 1998, M.V. Ocean Winner was nearing the end of its operational service life. The vessel's owning entity is based in Fujian, China. Its Protection and Indemnity insurance policy was active, having been updated on August 1 of this year through a major global P&I insurance provider. Ownership of the cargo ship had changed hands multiple times over the years, starting originally under Greek ownership. Port state control inspections conducted by various maritime authorities over time frequently flagged operational deficiencies. Even during the vessel's final inspection by Bangladeshi authorities in Chattogram in June 2026, three distinct flaws were officially logged, including issues with the ship's magnetic compass, yet operations had continued regardless.
