INS Teg Lends Assistance to MV Vela in the Gulf of Aden

INS Teg Lends Assistance to MV  Vela in the Gulf of Aden

On 25 August 2018, whilst patrolling in the piracy infested waters of Gulf of Aden, INS Teg, a warship of the Western Naval Command, received a call from a Combined Task Force aircraft for providing assistance to MV Vela, a Norwegian owned ship with an all Indian crew. The vessel was in distress as her Port Anchor along with the entire 330 metres cable weighing approx 42 tons had inadvertently slipped and was hanging into the sea. This severely disabled the ship with her speed being restricted to 5-6 knots, thus making her vulnerable to piracy attacks, apart from being a navigational hazard for herself as well as for other ships in the dense shipping corridor.

INS Teg quickly dispatched a specialist team to carry out an assessment of the situation and provided assistance for recovery of the anchor and cable. The team was lead by the ship’s Engineer Officer and comprised specialist officers, Seamanship Instructor, Anchor Chain Cable and Machinery Specialists.

Concerted efforts over three days resulted in the successful recovery of the anchor alongwith the entire 330 metres of cable. This evolution not only ensured onward safe voyage of MV Vela, which had to subsequently transit through the constricted waters of Red Sea and Suez Canal, but also averted huge financial loss.