Pakistan Navy rescues stranded Indian fishermen

Sailors of the Pakistan Navy came to the aid of an Indian fishing boat which had been stranded in the open sea for eight days, and provided technical and medical assistance to them.

According to a spokesperson on Sunday, while conducting Maritime Security Operations (MSOs) in the Gulf of Aden, PNS Alamgir provided assistance to a stranded Indian fishing dhow called St Marys.

The boat, manned by a crew of 12, had sailed from the Indian port of Colochel and was reported to have become non-operational due to loss of engine propulsion in the open sea near Salalah, Oman for the past eight days.

The spokesperson added that upon receiving the information and request for help, PNS Alamgir was promptly dispatched. The naval ship fixed the defect and made the boat operational.

Fixing the defect required various repairs including, gearbox removal and refixing, followed by alignments and repairs through improvised solutions by PNS Alamgir’s technical team onboard the Indian boat.

The stranded boat crew was dehydrated and also required medical care and

edibles which the rescue team provided, the spokesperson said. The ship master and crew of the stranded boat thanked the PNS for the kind gesture and its swift response. The fishing dhow, then, charted a course to India.

Ships of the Pakistan Navy are active participants of Multinational Task Force-150 and Task Force-151 which are mandated to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSOs) and anti-piracy operations, respectively.