Tuticorin: Indian Coast Guard rescued a tuna-liner and her crew of eight fishermen off the coast of Tuticorin on Wednesday.
Around 2.25 a.m. the Marine Rescue Sub Centre at Tuticorin received a VHF call from VOC Port at Tuticorin about an Indian fishing boat named Tharuvaikulam-133 in distress after its engine room was flooded.
The boat was rescued at 11 nautical miles south off Tuticorin coast.
The Coast Guard Station at Tuticorin deployed ICGS C-432 for search and rescue operation. The coast guard ship reached the distressed boat at 3.30 a.m. and took stock of the situation.
Initial assessment revealed that the engine room was getting flooded because of seepage from the broken seawater pipeline.
The ship's damage control party rigged up the portable submersible pumps and commenced de-flooding. Once the water level in the boat receded, the team took up repairing the boat using damage control devices.
The seepage was arrested and after completing the repairs, the tuna-liner was directed to proceed to Tharuvaikulam fishing harbour under the tow by another tuna-liner Tharuvaikulam-119. The towing boat was arranged by the fisheries department at Tuticorin.
Coast Guard statement said that the crew of the fishing boat reported healthy.
