In the third time in a row this week, the Indian Coast Guard successfully intervened on Sunday to spot a dhow reported missing in the high seas for the past two days. MSV Bethel Jeeva, who left the Beypore Port on January 2 and headed to Minicoy island of the Lakshadweep archipelago, was spotted 82 nautical miles off its destination this morning by a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft.
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) sources at the Beypore station said the vessel was found floating in the sea after its engine failed. The dhow was manned by a six-member crew from Tuticorin.
The spot and rescue mission was kicked off after the family of one of the dhow’s crew members complained to the Tuticorin authorities, who in turn passed on the information to the Beypore Coast Guard station. A ship had already left from Mangalore to tow the boat to Minicoy, ICG sources said.
It was only on Thursday that the Coast Guard rescued three fishermen who were stranded in the sea after their boat capsized. The ICG had used its recently acquired ship C-404 for the mid-sea operation.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard had used the same ship to rescue three other fishermen from Tanur who had marooned 15 nautical miles off the Ponnani coast.
The fishermen who were rescued on Thursday were found 30 nautical miles off the Ponnani coast.
