Washington: The 28 Indian crew members
onboard a crippled bulk cargo freighter have been advised by
the US Coast Guard not to "risk their life" by abandoning the
the ship in stormy seas in a hurry.
The crew of the ship in distress APJ Suryavir, who are
safe, planned to abandon the ship and board a rescue freighter
expected to arrive later Monday night.
The US Coast Guard advised Indian crew member not to
"risk their life" by abandoning the India-flagged 740-foot
bulk cargo ship APJ Suryavir, as it drifted about 865 km
southwest of Alaska’s Adam Island.
"We have been talking to them all night. He (Master)
is just adamant getting off the ship," Wes Parker, Search
Rescue Controller, US Coast Guard, said over phone.
All 28 crew members abroad Suryavir are Indians and
are safe, the official said. Master of the Suryavir has told
the Coast Guard that they would abandon the ship as soon as
the 1,100 foot goods American vessel comes to the scene around
10 to 10-30 am local time (12.30 am to 1.00 am India time).
The Coast Guard said its C-130 aircraft would again
fly over the area around the same time and could drop a raft
or some provisions needed, the official said.
"We are hoping that the Master would consider at least
waiting till this afternoon when we have day light and the
conditions are better a little bit," Parker said over
phone.
He said it is a pretty bad weather. "We have winds
around 40 knots and sea is approximately 20-25 feet. This
afternoon, the weather was supposed to subside to around 15-18
feet, so it is going to be dropping considerably this
afternoon," the official said.
When US Coast Guard official asked them "why he wants
to get off it so badly", they were told "the weather is really
rough and the engines are broken that means that they have to
get off the ship".
"We told him, it does seem to us why when the vessel
seems structurally safe he wants to leave it. That has been a
big question as to why he wants to leave the ship if
everything was Okay," Parker said.
The Coast Guard officials said that a private
commercial ship, the Maersk Altair, was heading towards the
stricken Indian ship.
Suryavir was coming from China and possibly headed
towards Portland in the US when the engine of the 740-foot
almost empty freighter failed.
"There are 28 persons on board. The entire crew is
Indian. They are all safe as of now," Ray Dwyer, Command Duty
Officer at Rescue Coordinator Centre, US Coast Guard, Juneau,
Alaska, said.
"They have no cargo on board," he said, adding that
this makes the ship imbalanced. However, the ship has now put
sea water in its tanks to add some weight.
PTI
