MV Ocean-Winner sinks off Odisha coast; 2 rescued, 22 crew missing
Synopsis
A cargo ship with 24 crew vanished in the Bay of Bengal hours after leaving Odisha's Paradip Port — and only two survivors have been found so far. With 22 crew members still unaccounted for and the cause of sinking unknown, India's Coast Guard, Navy, and diverted merchant vessels are in a race against monsoon-season seas.
Key Takeaways
MV Ocean-Winner , a Panama-flagged cargo vessel, sank in the Bay of Bengal approximately 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast on 22 August .
The ship carried 24 crew members — 20 Chinese nationals , 3 from Myanmar , and 1 from Bangladesh — and 1,700 tonnes of iron ore bound for Singapore.
It had departed Paradip Port at 10:30 pm on 20 August ; contact was lost by 11:48 am on 22 August .
Merchant tanker MT AISOPOS recovered 2 survivors from separate liferafts around 8 pm on 22 August.
ICGS Varad , ICGS Anmol , and ICGS Vijit were deployed; the Indian Navy joined the joint rescue operation.
The fate of the remaining 22 crew members is unknown; the cause of sinking is under investigation.
A Panama-flagged cargo vessel, MV Ocean-Winner, sank in the Bay of Bengal approximately 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast on Saturday, 22 August, triggering a major joint search-and-rescue operation by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy. The ship was carrying 24 crew members and about 1,700 tonnes of iron ore when it went down.
How the Distress Call Came In
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Sri Vijaya Puram received a contact-loss alert at 11:48 am on 22 August. The request for search-and-rescue assistance was filed by Victory Star Group Co. Ltd, the vessel's operating company. The ship's last known position was reported near 317 East Island Light, roughly 310 nautical miles from the coast.
MV Ocean-Winner had departed Paradip Port at approximately 10:30 pm on 20 August, bound for Singapore with a cargo of iron ore sourced from Odisha. The crew comprised 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh.
First Survivors Located
Following the alert, the MRCC activated the Indian Search and Rescue (ISN) network and diverted a merchant tanker, MT AISOPOS, to the last known position. Around 8 pm on the same day, MT AISOPOS recovered two survivors from two separate liferafts — the first confirmed sign of life since the vessel sank.
Authorities also alerted other commercial ships operating in the vicinity and requested their assistance in locating the remaining crew.
Coast Guard and Navy Response
The Indian Coast Guard deployed ships ICGS Varad and ICGS Anmol immediately after the alert, while ICGS Vijit sailed from Sri Vijaya Puram to reinforce the rescue effort. The Indian Navy joined the operation in a coordinated response covering a wide search radius in the Bay of Bengal.
This is a significant multi-agency maritime mobilisation, reflecting standing protocols under India's search-and-rescue obligations in its designated zone of responsibility.
Status of Crew and Investigation
As of the latest reports, the status of the remaining 22 crew members has not been confirmed. Rescue operations were continuing, with vessels and aircraft scouring the area. The exact cause of the sinking remains under investigation, and no official determination of fault or circumstance had been issued as of 22 August.
With rough sea conditions a potential factor given the Bay of Bengal's monsoon-season temperament, authorities are racing against time to locate survivors before conditions deteriorate further.
Point of View
And the window for finding the rest alive narrows with every passing hour in monsoon-season Bay of Bengal waters. What warrants scrutiny is the gap between departure and distress: MV Ocean-Winner left Paradip on the night of 20 August and contact was lost nearly 37 hours later — leaving open questions about when the vessel actually got into difficulty and whether any distress signals were sent earlier. India's MRCC response, once alerted, appears to have been swift, but the trigger came from the operating company, not an onboard SOS — a detail investigators will likely examine closely.
NationPress
23 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to MV Ocean-Winner off the Odisha coast?
MV Ocean-Winner, a Panama-flagged cargo vessel, sank in the Bay of Bengal approximately 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast on 22 August. The ship had 24 crew members on board and was carrying about 1,700 tonnes of iron ore from Paradip Port to Singapore.
How many crew members are missing after the MV Ocean-Winner sinking?
Of the 24 crew members on board, two survivors were rescued from liferafts by merchant tanker MT AISOPOS around 8 pm on 22 August. The remaining 22 crew members had not been accounted for as of the latest reports, with rescue operations ongoing.
Who is conducting the rescue operation for MV Ocean-Winner?
The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are conducting a joint rescue operation. Coast Guard ships ICGS Varad, ICGS Anmol, and ICGS Vijit were deployed, and the MRCC at Sri Vijaya Puram coordinated the response. Nearby commercial vessels were also alerted to assist.
Why was MV Ocean-Winner in the Bay of Bengal?
The vessel had departed Paradip Port in Odisha at approximately 10:30 pm on 20 August, carrying about 1,700 tonnes of iron ore and bound for Singapore. It was on a standard commercial cargo route when contact was lost.
What is the nationality of the crew on board MV Ocean-Winner?
The 24-member crew comprised 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh. The vessel itself was Panama-flagged and operated by Victory Star Group Co. Ltd.
