A maritime emergency off Odisha’s Paradip coast was brought under control after the Indian Coast Guard stabilised a foreign-flagged tanker that had developed a dangerous tilt following engine failure and flooding inside a ballast tank.
The vessel, MT Seagull 9, was carrying around 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil with 23 crew members onboard when it issued a distress call at around 7:30 am on September 27.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: MT Seagull 9 developed a dangerous tilt after engine failure and ballast-tank flooding.
Location: Around 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip, Odisha.
Authority/Organisation: Indian Coast Guard, with support from Paradip Port Authority.
Action Taken: Damage-control teams de-flooded the vessel, isolated damaged pipelines and stabilised the tanker.
Impact: The immediate risk of capsizing was eliminated, the crew remained safe and the vessel was placed under tow.
The tanker was approximately 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip when the emergency developed.
The Indian Coast Guard deployed ICGS Vishwast to the vessel, followed by a specialist damage-control team that boarded the unstable tanker and began emergency stabilisation work.
How the tanker was stabilised
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The incident highlights how quickly an onboard mechanical problem can become a wider maritime-safety issue when flooding affects a vessel’s stability. It also demonstrates that emergency response at sea can involve several simultaneous priorities: protecting crew, controlling flooding, preventing capsizing, monitoring pollution and arranging safe movement of the damaged vessel. For a tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of cargo, preventing a loss of stability can also reduce the possibility of a much larger environmental and economic incident.
The emergency was linked to rapid flooding of a ballast tank after the vessel’s main engine failed.
Coast Guard personnel used submersible de-flooding pumps to remove accumulated water. The team also isolated two damaged seawater pipelines and contained a third fractured line.
These measures reduced the flooding and helped remove the immediate risk of the tanker capsizing.
The operation required the damage-control work to be carried out while the tanker remained unstable at sea.
Pollution risk was monitored
Because the tanker was carrying a large quantity of palm oil, the emergency also created a potential marine-pollution concern.
A minor palm-oil sheen was observed near the vessel on September 27. The Coast Guard subsequently conducted aerial surveillance, and follow-up sorties on September 28 confirmed that the sheen had completely dissipated.
A Pollution Control Vessel and an additional Offshore Patrol Vessel were also deployed to strengthen pollution response and maintain surveillance around the tanker.
Tanker now under tow
Once the vessel had been stabilised, Paradip Port Authority tug Dolphin took MT Seagull 9 under tow towards the anchorage area off Paradip.
The Coast Guard said its specialised units remained in the area to provide operational support and maintain an active watch over the vessel.
The incident therefore shifted from an immediate capsizing threat to a controlled recovery and monitoring operation.
