The owner of an Indian fishing vessel has accused a sanctioned gas carrier of being involved in a collision that sank his boat.
The New Indian Express reported C Johnson, owner of the trawler Paraloga Matha, as saying that the 78,539-cbm Nus (built 1992) clashed with the smaller ship off the Colachel coast on Wednesday.
Nine fishermen were rescued from the sinking vessel 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the southern tip of India.
Johnson alleged that the Nus proceeded with its journey without offering aid to the fishing boat.
He said his crew were resting on their vessel, having been at sea since 4 December, when the collision occurred in the early hours.
Johnson has asked the Indian Coast Guard to intercept the VLGC and investigate the accident.
His crew members had battled for three hours to plug a hole in the stern before abandoning ship.
DT Next cited fisheries department sources as saying the accident happened at 04:30 hours.
However, marine police sources told the website there was no proper evidence to prove a collision had occurred.
AIS data showed the Nus underway on Thursday off the west coast of India, heading for Oman on 15 December.
It had left Jinshan in China on 28 November.
The Nus changed its name from the Cape Gas in May.
It was sanctioned by the US under this former name the month before.
Its Dubai-based ship manager, Oceanlink Maritime DMCC, was also sanctioned, accused of carrying cargoes that help fund Iran’s military.
The US Treasury Department accused the company of facilitating the shipment of Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and the Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces Logistics.
Oceanlink’s website gives no contact information. The Comoros-flagged VLGC’s insurer is not known.
Equasis lists the flag as false since May, according to data from IHS Maritime. The ship was registered in Comoros in 2020.
The last port state control safety inspection found eight deficiencies in China last December related to firefighting equipment and appliances, lifeboats, the auxiliary engine, watertight conditions and electrical systems.
The check followed a detention in China in July last year with 16 faults.
