Sri Lanka Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Samudura’ today safely repatriated 73 Australia-bound Sri Lankans stranded mid-sea due to an engine failure in their boat.
On the direction of the Navy, a merchant vessel heading for Singapore had rescued them 290 nautical miles south east of Galle around noon on July 24. The Navy alerted the merchant vessels in the area for the rescue, having received information on the incident from the Police.
Responding to the Navy’s request the Singapore-bound merchant vessel “Fairchem Sabre” deviated from her course and reached the overcrowded multi-day trawler in distress due to an engine failure, sailing additional 09 hours of the scheduled passage.
The crew of the Panama-flagged vessel under Ship’s Captain Dewaki Nandan Edupuganti’s directions managed to take all the passengers onboard ensuring their safety during the mid-sea transfer despite rough seas, Sri Lanka Navy media unit said.
Sri Lanka Navy dispatched SLNS Samudura along with a medical team to take over the rescued persons from the merchant vessel and bring them ashore. Among the rescued persons are 46 men, 10 women and 17 children that include 8 boys and 9 girls.
They are residents of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and were brought to Galle Harbour this morning by Samudura, navy said.
Appreciating the commendable assistance rendered by Merchant Vessel, “Fairchem Sabre” for the rescue, Sri Lanka Navy said the 73 asylum seekers would have perished in deep sea if not for SLN and Merchant Vessel’s prompt actions.
