On Thursday, the Indian Coast Guard rescued a British mariner from a UK sealift ship off the coast of Kochi, according to India's defence department.

At about 2100 hours on Wednesday night, the UK's maritime rescue coordination centre reached out to its counterparts in Mumbai. The civilian-crewed British sealift ship Anvil Point was operating off the coast of Kochi, and a 62-year-old male crewmember had developed a medical problem - likely deep vein thrombosis (a dangerous blood clot, typically in a leg).

The maritime rescue coordination centre in Kochi set up a telemedicine consultation to assess the mariner's condition. After determining the seriousness of the problem, it dispatched an Indian Coast Guard response vessel to meet up with the Anvil Point. The next day, the ICG cutter C-410 rendezvoused with Anvil Point off the coast of Kochi, transferred the patient aboard and delivered him safely to the port's harbor. He is in stable condition at Renai Hospital in Kochi, according to Indian authorities.


Anvil Point is a Point-class Ro/Ro sealift ship, a privately-operated vessel supported by the UK government and available when needed for use as a naval auxiliary. Six were built, including two at the famed yard of Harland & Wolff in Belfast. Anvil Point, delivered in 2003, was the final large merchant ship built at Harland & Wolff before its bankruptcy and restructuring. The other four were built in Germany by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft.

(With Agency Inputs)