Two crew members have been taken from a bitumen tanker off India with serious burns.
The incident took place on 18 May. The 7,300-dwt Xante (built 2010) diverted to the anchorage at Kochi to allow medical teams on board, the Indian Coast Guard said.
A statement said the two men had suffered “critical second-degree burns” while working in the engine room.
The coast guard’s southern naval command said a swift rescue operation was carried out.
The tanker, the former Black Pearl, was heading from Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates when it sent a distress signal to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai.
"Two Indian Nationals, namely Ambrose Antony, 48, and Pradeep Jaiswal, 32, were successfully evacuated from Xante off Kochi," it added.
The coast guard vessel C-162, based at Kochi, sailed out with medics, who embarked to transfer the men.
“The medical team examined the patients and accessed the feasibility of transferring the patients at sea. Adhering to all safety precautions to avoid the aggravation of injuries, patients were brought to coast guard jetty Kochi and the patients were shifted to the hospital,” the statement said.
The last AIS signal dates from 19 May when the tanker was underway to Chennai in the Laccadive Sea.
Detained last month
Shipping databases list the operator as Draco-Buren Shipping of Singapore.
But the company told TradeWinds it is not operating the vessel.
The tanker has insurance cover through the West of England club in the UK.
The ship had been detained in Haldia, India, on 20 April with 11 deficiencies
One of the grounds for detention was the cleanliness of the engine room.
The others were faults involving the general emergency alarm and the sewage treatment plant.
