MRCC Colombo & MV GSW Fabulous’ combined efforts save lives of 04 Sri Lankan fishermen stranded in deep seas

Sri Lanka Navy brought 04 fishermen, who had been stranded in deep seas, safely ashore at the Galle Harbour on 21^st December 2014. The fishermen, who had left for fishing from the Beruwale Fisheries Harbour in a multi-day trawler, had been drifting at sea for twenty-four days due to a mechanical fault in the trawler’s engine.

The stranded fishermen had first been sighted by a Singapore-registered chemical tanker “MV GSW Fabulous” bound for Saudi Arabia 700 nautical miles off Great Basses. The merchant vessel had contacted the Sri Lanka Navy's Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) based in Colombo for instructions, having ascertained their nationality. The alerted MRCC took immediate action for a rescue mission and requested the tanker to save the lives of the stranded fishermen, informing that an SLN patrol craft will be dispatched immediately to take over the rescued fishermen.

On the instructions of the Naval Headquarters, the Southern Naval Command dispatched an SLN patrol craft to rendezvous with the merchant vessel, which was proceeding to its destination having taken the fishermen onboard in response to the MRCC’s request. The fishermen were subsequently taken over by the SLN patrol craft 85 nautical miles off Galle and were brought safely ashore.