The third engineer of a bulker held for weeks in India as part of a drugs probe has been rescued after jumping from the ship.
The New Indian Express reported that the 37,000-dwt Panama-flag Debi (built 2012) was held in the port of Paradip at the end of November after 22kg of cocaine was found on board.
The report said morale had plummeted among the crew of 21 Vietnamese nationals after authorities confiscated phones and laptops.
An altercation began among some of the seafarers on the vessel on Saturday night.
The next day, the engineer jumped from the ship.
He was rescued by a colleague and taken to hospital.
The man, identified as Bui Cong Hou, was said to be in a stable condition.
No arrests have been made in the drugs investigation.
A dockworker found packages of narcotics attached by magnets to the ship’s cranes.
A subsequent inspection by local authorities revealed cocaine worth $26m on board.
The bulker had been en route from Indonesia to Denmark.
First drugs find at port
This is the first seizure of drugs at the port of Paradip, the report said.
The crew members have been questioned as part of the probe.
The Debi’s operator, Asia Pacific Shipping of Vietnam, has been contacted for further information.
The last AIS update on 1 December showed the vessel at anchorage off the port.
