23 stranded fishermen rescued

An energy firm used its machinery on Tuesday to rescue 23 fishermen stranded in the sea. According to a statement issued by the company, the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) received calls for help from fishermen aboard a stranded vessel, Al Rizwana, at 10.20am. The Maritime Information and Coordination Centre then contacted Byco Petroleum’s Single Point Mooring control centre, which immediately dispatched three craft from its fleet to rescue the fishermen. The crew aboard the craft managed to rescue all 23 fishermen stranded in the sea. According to details shared by the company, the fishermen’s boat had lost all power and there was an imminent danger of it crashing against the rocky coast if the help hadn’t reached in time. The boat was towed back to safe waters and later handed over to the MSA for being carried to Karachi Harbour. Speaking on the matter, the company’s security manager Cdr (Retd) Kaleem Ishaque said, “We consider it our moral duty to serve humanity through rescue operations such as this. We were right in time to rescue the distressed fishermen who… will be reunited with their families.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2020.