Authorities are engaged in a major operation about 100 nautical miles off the Mumbai coast to prevent a disabled ship from colliding with an Oil and natural Gas Corporation oil production rig in the Arabian Sea.
The merchant vessel Oel-Vision is around 400 metre from the rig Rontotmyer and the only options available to the Navy are to either tow it away or, if that is not possible, to sink it to avert a collision, Navy sources said.
Personnel on board the rig have been evacuated as a precautionary measure, the
sources said. The Coast Guard has also been put on alert.
"So far, 27 of the 28 crew members of the merchant vessel have been rescued by Indian Navy helicopters in the choppy sea after receiving a communication from the captain of the ship," said a source.
The container ship apparently developed engine problems and started taking in water two days ago, sources said, adding that the vessel was listing 10 degrees to starboard.
In July last year, a vessel collided with the Mumbai High platform, killing 26 people and destroying the platform.