A Bulgarian bulker pulled up alongside a burning fishing boat to evacuate 34 seafarers in a daring and dramatic rescue operation.
The incident occurred on Wednesday morning, about 500 miles (800 km) south-east of Sri Lanka, when the crew of the 55,500-dwt Eleen Armonia (built 2008) noticed thick smoke clouds rising on the horizon.
Upon receiving a distress signal from another passing cargo ship, the Bulgarian vessel’s master, Todor Todorov, approached what turned out to be the burning hull of the 224-gt fishing vessel Hasil Abadi 28 (built 2019).
The “devastating” fire had reduced the Indonesian fishing boat to “a charred, drifting wreck” and its 34 crew members were “stranded in desperate need of rescue”, the Eleen Armonia’s owner, Eleen Marine, told TradeWinds in an email.
With the fishing boat’s stern ablaze, the seafarers huddled together at the bow and were waving frantically for help when the bulker approached.
Pulling up alongside, the Eleen Armonia’s crew employed their hoses to try to put out the flames and salvage whatever they could from the vessel.
After about five hours of careful manoeuvring and firefighting efforts, the flames were under control and the crew evacuated.
“This incident serves as a powerful reminder of the unbreakable bond among seafarers worldwide, where the duty to assist those in peril transcends national and commercial interests,” Eleen Marine said, commending the Eleen Armonia’s 22 Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Indonesian seafarers for their action.
Once rescued, the crew of the Hasil Abadi 28 received food, water, essential supplies and medical care.
Contact was established with the burning vessel’s Indonesian owner, which dispatched three more fishing vessels operating nearby. After a rendezvous at sea early on Thursday, the Eleen Armonia disembarked the victims for eventual repatriation to Indonesia.
“Despite the harrowing ordeal, all survivors were found to be in stable condition,” Eleen Marine said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined yet. The damage is so great that the Hasil Abadi 28 is expected to sink.(Copyright)
