Recently, a 70,000-ton cargo ship Ocean Winner sank in the Gulf of Bengal, and 18 Chinese crew members were missing.
On August 24th, the Consulate General of China in Calcutta confirmed this news to Cover News, and stated that the relevant search and rescue efforts are still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the families of the missing crew members have also started to voice their concerns. According to the Jiupai News, on August 23, Ms. Wei's family received a call from the shipowner, informing them that the ship had sunk and Mr. Wei was missing. She said that her whole family was in shock at that time, as her cousin was the main source of income for the family. "My cousin's mother had a car accident and is not in good health. Now, hearing this news, she is on the verge of falling ill. My cousin's children are also very young, and the entire family depends on his wages from working at sea."
Ms. Wei said that her cousin has been working in ocean shipping for 10 years and is a 'veteran'. This time, he was appointed as the chief engineer on the 'Ocean Winner' ship. Two days before the incident, his cousin also talked to his family, saying that he wanted to buy gifts for the baby born to his sister’s family. She also noticed some problems: 'During the conversation before the incident, he mentioned that this ship was constantly being repaired and maintained. It was old and broken down, with endless work and overtime hours. The working environment was very noisy, and the temperatures were unbearable.'
After the incident, Ms. Wei and her family mobilized the help of friends and relatives around them, searched for information online, contacted some of the crew members' families, and also tried to communicate with the shipowner's company. "The company couldn't provide any clear information, and we never got any useful details from them," Ms. Wei said. She also revealed that she had tried to contact the survivors through the shipowner's company in order to understand the specifics of what happened at the time of the incident. However, the company was unable to help in establishing any communication with the survivors. "They said that the survivors had suffered head injuries and were unconscious, so it was impossible to communicate with them."
According to the cover story, Mr. Li (a pseudonym), a cousin of another missing sailor named Wang (also with a pseudonym), said, "Before he left, his cousin said that he wouldn't go out to sea after this trip." Mr. Li explained that in mid-April this year, his cousin Mr. Wang set off from China and boarded the 'Ocean Winner'. The plan was to return to his home country after October, and then end his seafarer’s career to settle down and start a family.
Mr. Li also said that his cousin, Mr. Wang, is 26 years old. After graduating from a cooking school, he started working as a chef on boats. Each voyage usually takes half a year or even longer, and his income is over 100,000 yuan. His family has gotten used to him being away at sea for long periods of time, but they never thought that such an accident would happen. “The shipping company informed the family to wait for official information from the Indian police. They are not aware of details regarding the ship’s distress situation or the number of life jackets available,” said Mr. Li.
Currently, the family of the missing crew member Wang has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “Global Consular Protection and Emergency Service Center” to register for assistance. They hope to receive updates on the search efforts and the whereabouts of the crew members as soon as possible. On the morning of the 24th, Mr. Wang’s parents and relatives rushed to Fuzhou to wait for further news from the shipping company. Ms. Wei and her relatives in Fuzhou have already visited the shipping company to gather information, and Ms. Wei’s wife is still on her way to Fuzhou.
The ship involved in this accident is the Panamanian bulk carrier “Ocean Winner”. It flies the Panamanian flag and has an International Maritime Organization number of IMO 9145530. The “Ocean Winner” was built in 1998, and it is currently 28 years old. The ship’s length is 225 meters, and its width is approximately 32 meters. This cargo ship was carrying 71,200 tons of iron ore at the Port of Paradip, India, before setting off for Singapore.
The global maritime and offshore engineering industry platform ‘The Maritime Executive’ indicates that fine iron ore powder is a potentially hazardous cargo. When moisture causes them to roll, they can move suddenly to one side, adversely affecting the stability of the ship. From 2007 to 2019, 29 seafarers lost their lives due to injuries or deaths related to iron ore cargo.
The ship was originally scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 23:30 on August 26. According to the Indian Express, on August 21 local time in India, the ship sank suddenly during its voyage from Palkat Port in India to Singapore. At 4:45 PM GMT on August 21, the ship’s automatic identification system signal disappeared in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, and it lost contact about 290 nautical miles away from Palkat coast. Reports indicate that the crew issued a distress alert around the same time.
According to Reuters, citing Indian Maritime Affairs Director Shyam Jagannathan, two rescued Chinese sailors said that the ship named 'Ocean Winner' tilted on the 21st and sank within 8 minutes, forcing the crew to abandon the ship.
The ship carried a total of 24 crew members, among whom 20 were Chinese citizens, 3 were from Myanmar, and 1 was from Bangladesh.
A staff member from the Fujian Maritime Bureau told the New Beijing News that the owner of the ship involved in the accident is the foreign ship management company Ocean Winner Shipping Co Ltd. The company is registered in Marshall Islands. Fujian Kaixing Crew Management Co Ltd is responsible for recruiting the Chinese crew members involved in this incident. All Chinese crew members are dispatched by Fuzhou International Economic and Technical Cooperation Company.
Currently, the search and rescue efforts are being carried out by multiple parties. According to the Indian Times, the Indian Navy’s P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft found a life buoy during the search and rescue mission. Two sailors were rescued from the life buoy by a merchant ship named MT Aisopos that operates nearby.
Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Water Transport Minister Sarbananda Senanayake posted on social media saying: "All agencies are coordinating closely and actively carrying out rescue efforts." According to information obtained by Shangguan News from the Fujian Maritime Bureau, a special coordination and rescue team has been formed to dispatch ships for the maritime rescue efforts in this incident.
Fudan University's South Asian Studies Center Deputy Director Lin Minwang told the Global Times on Monday that India's active efforts to rescue Chinese crew can still leave a positive impression on the Chinese people and make the public feel India's goodwill. This could potentially improve Sino-Indian relations.
Lin Minwang said that the relevant officials continuing to follow up on rescue efforts and expressing goodwill can further demonstrate India's willingness to improve relations with China.
