Merchant vessel hit by total power failure rectified at sea by Indian Coast Guard

Merchant vessel JSW Mihirgad, a 122-meter long vessel safely entered the New Mangalore harbour during the wee hours of Saturday, thanks to timely assistance by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The merchant shop suffered a total power failure on its maiden voyage from Kochi, Kerala to Jaigarh, Rajasthan, leaving it dead in the water.

Manned by 14 crew, on Thursday, the ship suffered the failure of all three Diesel Alternators, bedsides it's a backup generator. Thisnecessitatedthe shipto drop anchorabout4.5 nautical miles off Kasargod, Kerala and raise a distress call. In the absence of propulsion, lighting, ventilation, caused by total power failure, the crew was also unable to prepare food or water through its onboard systems.

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Based on this information, ICG District Headquarters at New Mangalore conducted a situational assessment for the safe embarkation of the technical team from M/sCochin Shipyard Ltd(CSL), which build the ship.

#SafetyofSeafarers @IndiaCoastGuard prompt action averted potential disaster. Defect onboard MV JSW Mihirgad rectified by CSL engineers transferred per #ICG helicopter. Vessel safely entered #NewMangalore harbour today morning under own propulsion @shipmin_india @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/Qt1wpOkmjF

However, due to adverse sea conditions with the high swell, usage of boats was ruled out and helicopters were considered a safe option.

On Friday, ICG Helicopter CG 817 airliftedthe deputedtechnical staff from New Mangalore for rendering assistance, performing repairs to the ship. ICGS Varaha, which was in the areawas also deployed immediately on Fridayto monitor the situation and provide towing assistance, in case the vessel starts drifting towards the coast, due to rough weather.

Besides continuously tracking the vessel through itsCoastal Security Network, the ICG team that got onboard had rectified the technical issue, thus saving 14 lives and averting a potential environmental disaster.