Merchant vessel that ran aground is sinking

The merchant vessel, Princess Miral, which ran aground five nautical miles off Mangaluru on Tuesday, was sinking fast on Wednesday, according to official sources.

The sources said that the vessel from which 15 Syrian marine crew were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard sunk about 70% on Wednesday.

Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar said that the rescued crew will be handed over to Panambur Police by the Coast Guard.

They will be kept in some hostel in coordination with the District Social Welfare Officer. Later, they will be shifted to foreigners detection centre at Nelamangala, Bengaluru.

“Finally, after an order from the Bureau of Immigration, they will be repatriated to Syria through their embassy,” Mr. Kumar said.

The crew abandoned the ship following a breach in the hull, leading to ingress of water.

Following a distress call for rescue, Coast Guard ships Vikram and Amartya braved rough waters to reach the foreign vessel and rescued the crew.

The vessel was carrying 8,000 tonnes of steel coil from Tianjin in China to Beirut in Lebanon.