NAVIS AMARYLLIS, a Panamanian flag vessel, grounded due to the Main Engine failure, close to K. Rasfari Island on August 19, 2021. It appears that the ship’s coordinates have not changed since the last AIS transmission. AIS coordinates are Latitude 4.40 N / Longitude 73.34 E.
Has the vessel entered the contiguous zone without any formal approval? When it comes to freedom of passage or emergency anchoring, the vessel’s current position isn’t ideal for either scenario.
This incident appears to be a hoax. As a result of the failure of the main engine, did they seek emergency tugs? Then why did they go to the atoll when they might have taken a safe route to Saldanha Bay from the East or West of the Maldives? There is no longer an HRA on the west coast of the Maldives; it is instead a VRA.
Did the vessel broadcast an urgency DSC alert prior to the Distress alert? According to the MNDF reports, it appears that the MRCC only received one warning, which I believe is a Distress, though it’s not certain yet.
She was headed from Tuticorin to Saldanha Bay, according to her AIS data. In the Maldives, Tuticorin is one of the primary entry points for smuggling narcotics. At Male’, the police drug enforcement team confiscated narcotics from a number of vessels that had been rummaged through by customs officials. On marinetraffic.com, the AIS report is shown in the image below:
Raaje.mv stated that MNDF is now working on salvaging the vessel in conjunction with other government agencies to refloat her. After that, the EPA will determine the degree of the damage caused by the infringement and take appropriate action.
On top of that, a marine casualty investigation was believed to be conducted as a norm by the Classification Society and Flag Inspection in the wake of this event. In order to determine if there has been a violation of local rules or if the vessel has truly grounded during the main engine failure occurrence, the vessel must be held until the investigation has been finished.
