Caption: The Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy have launched a joint rescue operation after the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Winner sank in waters off the coast of Paradip, India's Odisha state. Photo: Screenshot of NDTV's report

Two Chinese sailors have been rescued after a Panama-flagged bulk carrier carrying 24 crew members sank in the Bay of Bengal, about 230 nautical miles off the coast of Paradip, India's Odisha state, as Indian authorities intensified search-and-rescue operations for the remaining 22 crew members, according to multiple Indian media outlets and Reuters.

The two sailors were rescued from life rafts by MT Aisopos, a commercial vessel operating nearby, after an Indian Navy P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft located the rafts during the search-and-rescue mission, the Times of India reported.

The two Chinese seafarers said the vessel, called Ocean Winner, had developed a list on Friday and sank within eight minutes, forcing the crew to abandon ship, Reuters reported, citing Shyam Jagannathan, director general of India's Maritime Administration.

Jagannathan said the chances of finding survivors generally fall sharply after the first 12 hours, but rescuers were continuing their search.

Ocean Winner, with IMO number 9145530, was a 70,000-deadweight-ton bulk carrier built in 1998. It loaded iron ore at Paradip and departed for Singapore on Thursday with 24 crew members aboard, according to Maritime Executive.

The vessel's Automatic Identification System signal disappeared in the middle of the Bay of Bengal at 4:45 pm GMT on Friday. The crew issued a distress alert at around the same time, the report said.

The 22 missing crew members include 18 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi, according to the Indian Coast Guard.

Two Coast Guard vessels were dispatched from Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly known as Port Blair and the capital of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to join the search-and-rescue operation, according to a Coast Guard spokesperson cited by Reuters.

Separately, Maritime Executive noted that iron ore fines can become hazardous when wet, as the cargo may liquefy and suddenly shift to one side while a vessel is rolling. This induces a list, accompanied by free surface effect, with serious adverse impact on stability. From 2007 to 2019, 29 seafarers were killed in casualties involving iron ore cargoes, the outlet reported.

Global Times