Indian Coast Guard rescues at least 27 Bangladeshi fishermen stranded at sea

Kolkata: In a swift operation, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued 27 Bangladeshi fishermen stranded on their fishing boat at sea near the Indo-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line (IMBL).

The ICG’s regional headquarters at Kolkata, on Friday, shared that on April 4 at about 11:30 am ICG ship ‘Amogh’ was on patrol at the IMBL. It spotted a Bangladeshi fishing boat ‘Sagar II’ adrift inside Indian waters. The ICG ship launched a boarding team to investigate.

ICG sources said that during investigation it was revealed that the boat had a steering gear breakdown for the last two days and had been adrift since then which led to the boat drifting inside Indian waters. The Bangladeshi fishing boat had 27 crew/fishermen onboard.

The Indian Coast Guard’s technical team tried to identify and rectify the defect but it was observed that the rudder of the boat was completely damaged and could not be repaired at sea. As the sea and weather conditions were conducive it was decided that the distressed boat will be towed to the Indo- Bangladesh IMBL and handed over to another Bangladeshi fishing boat operating across IMBL or to Bangladesh Coast Guard Ship, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Coast Guard and Bangladesh Coast Guard.

In the meantime, ICG’s Kolkata headquarters established communication with Bangladesh Coast Guard and informed them about the incident and plan of action. Bangladesh Coast Guard Ship (BCGS) ‘Kamaruzzaman’ was deployed by BCG for towing of the fishing boat. The BCG ship arrived near the IMBL at about 6:45 pm on April 4. ICGS ‘Amogh’ handed over the 27 Bangladeshi fishermen along with their boat to BCG ship ‘Kamaruzzaman’.

ICG officials said that the operation reflects the

commitment of the Indian Coast Guard towards safeguarding precious lives at sea against all odds. Such successful search and rescue (SAR) operations not only strengthens the regional SAR structure but also enhances international cooperation with

neighbouring countries.