Twenty-two seafarers are still missing after the Panama-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Winner sank in the Bay of Bengal. This incident has led to a large search and rescue operation involving the Indian Coast Guard and nearby merchant ships.
The search efforts began on August 22, when India’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Vijaya Puram received a distress signal and lost contact with the vessel, which was approximately 230 nautical miles southeast of Paradip.
The Ocean Winner had a crew of 24 members, consisting of 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh.
A distress signal sent out through the International Safety Net prompted nearby ships to change course and assist. The tanker Aisopos managed to rescue two survivors from life rafts.
The Indian Coast Guard has dispatched three ships to continue searching for the remaining 22 crew members.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation expressed its concern for the families of those missing and urged Panama, the country where the vessel is registered, to investigate the sinking promptly.
This tragedy highlights the dangers of cargo liquefaction in bulk carriers, although the exact cause of the Ocean Winner's sinking has not yet been determined.
Liquefaction happens when moisture in certain bulk cargoes causes materials that seem solid to act like a liquid. This can lead to cargo moving around, which can destabilize a ship and, in severe cases, cause it to capsize suddenly. Iron ore fines are known to be particularly vulnerable to this issue.
In its latest casualty report, the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners, known as INTERCARGO, warned that cargo liquefaction is still the most dangerous threat facing bulk carriers.
From 2016 to 2025, 17 bulk carriers weighing 10,000 deadweight tons or more were lost worldwide, resulting in 71 deaths. Cargo liquefaction was responsible for 37 of these fatalities, making up more than half of the deaths during that period.
The sinking of the Ocean Winner comes after the earlier incident of the 56,000-dwt Devon Bay, which sank while transporting nickel ore. At that time, two seafarers were confirmed dead, and four were still missing. Survivors indicated that too much moisture in the roughly 55,000-ton nickel ore cargo may have caused it to shift suddenly during rough seas, although authorities noted that liquefaction was only a suspected initial cause.
INTERCARGO has consistently urged shipowners, operators, and seafarers to be very careful when transporting nickel ore, bauxite, iron ore fines, and other liquefaction-prone cargoes, especially in wet conditions.
Despite these risks, the overall safety record of the industry has improved significantly. INTERCARGO reports that the yearly average of bulk carrier losses over the last ten years is decreasing, even as the global fleet expands. This improvement is credited to better ship design, compliance with regulations, crew training, operational experience, and advancements in technology.
However, for the families of the Ocean Winner crew, the main focus remains on the ongoing search for the 22 missing seafarers.