Navy rescues dinghy stranded at sea

A dinghy with two fishermen that swept away to the Indian waters has been rescued by the Navy with the assistance of Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Colombo and Chennai.

The dinghy that departed Silawathura for fishing had faced distress due to a failure in its outboard motor (OBM).

“In response to a request for assistance by the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Navy located the dinghy that had gone missing, while out on a fishing voyage from Silavathura area on January 13. MRCC Chennai informed MRCC Colombo about the spotting of missing dinghy by an Indian Coast Guard ship in Indian waters, after it was drifted beyond the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) having gone into a failure in OBM,” Navy said.

Accordingly, an Indian Coast Guard ship had assisted the stranded dinghy with the two fishermen to reach the IMBL, from which it was safely towed shoreward by Sri Lanka Coast Guard ship ‘Samaraksha’ on January 15.

Navy said MRCC Colombo has responded to distress calls of 48 merchant ships and 123 local fishing vessels during last year and this year and has assisted the rescue of 98 seafarers and fishermen .