The Indian Coast Guard personnel here on Saturday rescued a Tamil Nadu registered fishing boat stranded off New Mangalore Port with 10 crew members on board.
The boat, St. Joseph with registration number IND-TN-15-MM-5844, was stranded owing to engine failure. Coast Guard ship Amartya towed it to safety.
Owing to extremely rough sea monsoon conditions, the boat lost its machinery and navigation control on June 8. With wind speed of up to 45 knots and swell height of more than four metres along with incessant rains, the boat was stranded at high seas with imminent danger to fisherman’s lives on board. The boat had sailed from Kochi. The severe weather and sea conditions resulted in several unsuccessful rescue attempts throughout the night on Friday. Finally, it was towed to safety alongside the port at 1.15 p.m. on Saturday, a Coast Guard release said. The Coast Guard acted on an SOS call from the boat, S.S. Dasila, Commander, Coast Guard, Karnataka, said.