Sovcomflot tanker NS Africa rescues 19 seafarers in the Gulf of Aden

Rescued seafarers on board NS Africa. [Photo: Sovcomflot]

Russia’s largest shipping company Sovcomflot reports that on June 23 at 13:12 local time, its tanker NS Africa, sailing in the Gulf of Aden 96 nautical miles southeast of the port of Nishtun (eastern coast of Yemen), received a signal from a tanker in distress.

Sovcomflot identifies that ship as the Lavant. There is no tanker of that name in the Equasis data base, however the vessel was likely one reported by UKMTO as being abandoned and adrift after suffering serious flooding. UKMTO described this as being “a SOLAS incident,” and did not categorize it as an attack.

Sovcomflot says that NS Africa promptly responded to the received signal and changed its course, heading to the disaster area. The sailors of the sinking ship were forced to leave it, taking to a life raft into the open sea, where they were at the time of their discovery.

At 14:10 local time, the crew of the tanker NS Africa, led by Captain Konstantin Pronchenko, carried out an operation to rescue the 19 seafarers, including citizens of India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Indonesia. All of them were lifted on board, accommodated and supplied with drinking water and food. There are no missing or injured people.

Upon completion of the rescue operation, the NS Africa proceeded in the direction of the Suez Canal, continuing its voyage. The rescued seafarers are scheduled to be disembarked at the port of Suez on June 29.

• Sovcomflot was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) in February of this year.