Tag: mv asian express

Asian Express crew return to Maldives

The Maldivian crew of the MV Asian Express cargo ship, which sank off the coast of India last week, returned safely to the country yesterday (June 15), the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has confirmed.

MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem said today that all 18 Maldivian nationals on the ship’s 22-member crew had returned to the country “in good health”.

The MV Asian Express, a 35 year-old Lily Enterprises vessel, was travelling from Port Md Bin Qasim in Karachi to Male’ when it encountered engine trouble, reportedly after being fuelled with contaminated oil, according to Indian media reports.

In addition to engine trouble, the vessel suffered a two-to-three-metre vertical crack on its starboard side below the waterline and a failed communication system before sinking.

The ship’s owners yesterday told local media that they had decided to sell the 35 year-old ship just before the incident occurred.

“We decided to sell the boat not because of its condition, but due to its small size and high maintenance cost. An Indian living in Dubai has offered to buy it,” Ahmed Saleem, shipping manager of Apollo Holdings, was quoted as saying in Haveeru.

After its crew had been rescued, the vessel sank with its cargo of 4000 tons of cement and 2400 tons of sand.

The MV Asian Express was carrying aggregate imported from Pakistan, after a shortage began impacting the Maldives’ construction industry.

Aggregate was previously imported to the Maldives from India under a special quota, however this was temporarily revoked on February 15 amid a breakdown in the country’s relationship over the government’s eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and ongoing mistreatment of Indian nationals working in the country.

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No satellite communications, no rescue tug, contaminated fuel: the final voyage of the MV Asian Express

A Maldivian cargo ship that sunk of the coast of Kochi was on its final voyage, reports Indian media.

The 35 year-old Lily Enterprises vessel, MV Asian Express, was travelling from Port Md Bin Qasim in Karachi to Male when it encountered engine trouble, reportedly after being fuelled with contaminated oil.

“Captain Ahmed Shakir told coast guard officials that the fuel filled from Port Bin Qasim could have been contaminated, which caused the vessel’s turbocharger to pack up, resulting in engine shutdown,” reported Indian newspaper The Hindu.

“For two days we were in deep trouble,” Captain Ahmed Shakir told the Indian Express. As per the original schedule, we were supposed to reach Maldives by June 10,” Shakir said.

“Adding to his troubles was the two-to-three-metre vertical crack on the starboard side of the ship below waterline and failure of the communication system,” reported the Deccan Chronicle.

According to marine tracking reports, the Indian Coast Guard ship Varuna arrived to assist but was forced to abandon attempts to fix the engines because of rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, with wind gusting at up to 50 kilometres an hour.

Commanding officer of the CGS Varuna, K M Arun Kumar, told the Hindu the rescue effort was also hampered by heavy swell and poor visibility.

“To top it all, Asian Express had no satellite phone and a message was relayed to it through a nearby vessel, MV Golden Shui, before we reached the area,” Kumar told the paper.

“The vessel’s agent, in the meantime, informed that tug Villa-2 which had been asked to tow the vessel to safety had not yet started from Male. In any case, the tug would not have reached the site before the morning of July 14. Meanwhile, the master informed us that the three hatches of the ship were flooded up to 10 metres after a wide crack on its starboard side.

“Soon, he said they would be abandoning the vessel and was instructed to use the life boats. However, the two lifeboats were non-operational and had to be pulled manually, even as the drifting vessel and the heavy swell posed a real danger to Varuna itself. It was already dark when every crewmember of the vessel in distress was taken on board Varuna and given food and medicines.”

Instead the coast guard evacuated all 22 crew members, including 18 Maldivians and four Indian nationals and transferred them to Kochi.

Its crew rescued, the vessel sank with its cargo of 4000 tons of cement and 2400 tons of sand.

The MV Asian Express was carrying aggregate imported from Pakistan, after a shortage began impacting the Maldives’ construction industry.

Aggregate was previously imported to the Maldives from India under a special quota, however this was temporarily revoked on February 15 amid a breakdown in the country’s relationship over the government’s eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and ongoing mistreatment of Indian nationals working in the country.

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Indian coastguard rescues crew of Maldivian cargo vessel

The Maldivian cargo ship MV Asian Express sank on Wednesday evening 300 kilometres west of Kochi, after its hull reportedly cracked below the waterline.

The ship, which was travelling to the Maldives from Pakistan carrying a cargo of sand and cement, suffered an engine failure on Tuesday evening and began drifting, reported IBN Live.

According to marine tracking reports, the Indian Coast Guard ship Varuna arrived to assist but was forced to abandon attempts to fix the engines because of rapidly deteriorating weather conditions.

The Indian coast guard subsequently evacuated all 22 crew members, including 18 Maldivians and four Indian nationals.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) confirmed it had received the first distress reports, and said the Maldivian crew were being transferred to Kochi following total loss of the vessel.

The MV Asian Express was carrying aggregate imported from Pakistan, after a shortage began impacting the Maldives’ construction industry.

Aggregate was previously imported to the Maldives from India under a special quota, however this was temporarily revoked on February 15 amid a breakdown in the country’s relationship over the government’s eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and ongoing mistreatment of Indian nationals working in the country.

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