Twenty-two seafarers remain missing after a Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying more than 72,000 tonnes of iron ore sank in the Bay of Bengal, around 230 nautical miles off the Odisha coast. Two Chinese crew members have been rescued, while Indian authorities continue an intensive search for the remaining seafarers.

The vessel, MV Ocean Winner, left Paradip Port on Friday for China and reportedly sank in deep waters on Saturday. The crew had 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly known as Port Blair, began search and rescue operations after receiving a distress alert and losing contact with the ship.

Indian Coast Guard ships and a Navy maritime surveillance aircraft are involved in the search. Merchant vessels operating in the area have also been alerted to support the rescue effort. Coast Guard spokesperson Commandant Amit Uniyal said, “MRCC Sri Vijaya Puram initiated a swift search and rescue effort following a distress alert and loss of contact with MV Ocean Winner at 11.48 am Saturday, nearly 230 nautical miles southeast off Paradip,”

He added, “The coordination centre then diverted the tanker MT Aisopos, which rescued two Chinese survivors from two liferafts at about 8 pm. Coast Guard ships Varad and Anmol were assigned to the search, and Vijit sailed from Sri Vijaya Puram.”

A report by the Directorate of Maritime Administration said the MV Ocean Winner developed a list before sinking within around eight minutes. The report was based on information provided by the two survivors, Chen Jianhe and Pan Tonglai, to Capt. Silviu Vllad, the Romanian master of MT Aisopos.

The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Kolkata, has been assigned a Preliminary Investigation into the incident. Authorities will examine the circumstances surrounding the sinking and determine what caused the vessel to go down so quickly.

The Indian Navy also joined the operation. Officials from the Eastern Naval Command said a retasked Boeing P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft spotted liferafts that were spread apart around 435 miles east of Visakhapatnam. The aircraft then guided MT Aisopos towards the rafts. The Navy continues to coordinate with the Coast Guard and MRCC Sri Vijaya Puram to locate the missing crew members.

Director General of Shipping Shyam Jagannathan said the two rescued seafarers are Chinese nationals. “The survival odds fall sharply after 12 hours,” he said. The rescued crew members were being taken to the mainland for medical treatment. Coast Guard officials, however, initially said they were still verifying their nationalities.

Rough sea conditions in the Bay of Bengal have made the search more difficult. Uniyal said the weather and sea conditions were hampering rescue operations. Rescue teams are continuing to search the area for signs of the missing seafarers.

The exact cause of the sinking has not yet been established. Authorities are expected to examine several possibilities, including adverse weather and sea conditions, problems with the cargo and mechanical failure. Investigators are also likely to look into the vessel's disappearance from tracking systems before it sank.

Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said government agencies were coordinating the search and rescue operation. “Deeply concerned by the unfortunate incident involving MV OCEAN WINNER off the coast of Odisha,” Sonowal said in an X post.

MV Ocean Winner was built in 1998. Ocean Winner Shipping Co Ltd, based in Fuzhou, Fujian, China, is listed as the vessel's registered owner, commercial manager and International Safety Management manager. The vessel is a single-hull ship.

The Coast Guard, Navy and maritime authorities remain engaged in the search for the 22 missing seafarers. Merchant vessels in the region are also assisting the operation as authorities work to locate more survivors and establish the circumstances that led to the ship's sudden sinking.