Naval ship rescues drifting merchant vessel

Visakhapatnam, Aug 4 (UNI) The Indian Navy rescued a merchant vessel 'MV Nazish' in distress and towed it to safety after a gruelling three-day ordeal that ended here today.

According to the Navy release here this evening, ''M V NAZISH'' had left Kolkata for Port Blair on July 24 last. The 3500 tonne ship was about 600 miles due east off Visakhapatnam on July 29 when it sought assistance owing to a technical problem in the engines. It was drifting towards Myanmar due to rough seas.

On receiving the request, 'INS Rana', a frontline destroyer of the eastern fleet, while on deployment in the Bay of Bengal, was directed to render necessary assistance to 'MV Nazish', rescue the crew and tow the ship to Port Blair.

''INS Rana' covered the distance in 27 hours. A Naval team of an officer and seven sailors reached the distressed ship on July 31 despite non availability of grear with the marchant vessel and incompatible deck fittings.

But once this was overcome through innovation, the towing operation also proved to be challenging owing to rough seas, a heavily laden ship and severe chaffing of the tow rope due to friction. It took all the seamanship skills of the determined team to ensure that the ship was successfully towed for over 370 Nautical Miles(NM) to the safety of Port Blair harbour.

UNI BSR VV SLD KN2106