23 crew. 9,000 tonnes of palm oil. A tanker rapidly taking on water in the Bay of Bengal. Then came the Indian Coast Guard.
On the morning of 27 September 2026, a serious maritime emergency unfolded around 37 nautical miles east-southeast of Paradip, Odisha.
The Belize-flagged MT Seagull 9, carrying around 9,000 metric tonnes of palm oil and 23 crew members, suffered a main-engine failure. At the same time, water began flooding one of its ballast tanks. The tanker developed a dangerous list, creating the risk of a much larger accident at sea.
The distress call triggered an immediate response from the Indian Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard deployed ICGS Vishwast towards the stricken tanker. But this was not simply a case of sending a rescue boat and taking people off a ship.
The real challenge was to save the ship before it could capsize.
A specialist Coast Guard Damage Control Team boarded the unstable tanker and went directly to work. Using submersible de-flooding pumps, the team began removing water and worked to stop the flooding. Two damaged seawater pipelines were blanked, while another fractured line was contained.
At the same time, efforts were made to improve the vessel's stability through de-flooding and cargo-transfer operations.
This was the critical part of the operation. Every tonne of water entering the wrong part of a listing ship can make its stability problem worse. The Coast Guard team therefore had to work inside an already unstable vessel while trying to bring the situation back under control.
And there was another danger.
The tanker was carrying 9,000 tonnes of palm oil. A sinking or major structural failure could have created a significant marine-pollution response. The Coast Guard therefore brought additional assets into the operation, including a Pollution Control Vessel, an Offshore Patrol Vessel and a Dornier aircraft for aerial surveillance.
A small palm-oil sheen was observed near the vessel on September 27, but follow-up aerial surveillance the next day found that it had fully dissipated.
Slowly, the situation changed.
The flooding was brought under control. The tanker was stabilised and the immediate threat of capsizing was removed.
Then came the next phase.
Paradip Port Authority's tug Dolphin 25 went out to the disabled tanker. The tug reached MT Seagull 9 at around 5:24 pm, connected the tow line at approximately 5:54 pm, and began towing the vessel towards safety.
The tanker was subsequently brought within Paradip Port limits and safely secured on September 28.
What makes this incident remarkable is that the Indian Coast Guard's role went far beyond simply responding to a distress call.
Its specialist team boarded a dangerous, unstable tanker, controlled flooding, supported stabilisation, monitored pollution risks and remained on scene while the vessel was taken under tow. The operation then continued with Paradip Port Authority, the Directorate General of Shipping, MRCC and other agencies working together.
For the 23 people aboard MT Seagull 9, the difference between a controlled emergency and a maritime disaster came down to time, expertise and coordinated action.
For the marine environment, it meant preventing a much more serious pollution incident.
And for shipping in the Bay of Bengal, it was another reminder that when a vessel starts losing stability, there is very little room for delay.
On that September morning, a foreign tanker was in trouble off India's eastern coast.
The Indian Coast Guard went out, boarded the troubled vessel, fought the flooding and helped bring the situation back under control.
Sometimes a maritime rescue is not about pulling people from the water.
Sometimes it is about stopping the ship from reaching the water in the first place.
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