Indian Coast Guard evacuates rescued Indian fishers from Vietnam-flagged merchant ship off TN’s Colachel

An Indian Coast Guard vessel, Anagh, rendezvoused with a Vietnam-flagged ship, MS Solis, off the Tamil Nadu coast early on Sunday (March 8, 2026) and evacuated nine Indian fishers rescued from the sea by the merchant vessel’s crew following a collision on Saturday (March 7, 2026). 

The Coast Guard vessel docked at the Vizhinjam harbour in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Emergency responders rushed the rescued fishers to the Government Medical College for critical care. 

According to police, at least two of the fishers had sustained serious injuries in the mid-sea collision. 

According to the Kerala police, the fishing boat St Joseph had set out to sea from Shakthikulangara Harbour in Kollam late on Friday (March 6, 2026). They said there were 11 fishers onboard, five from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and the rest from West Bengal. 

According to police, the collision occurred early on Saturday (March 7, 2026) when the fishing boat anchored at sea, without the crew realising that they were parked in the middle of a busy international shipping lane off the coast of Colachel in Tamil Nadu. 

Following the impact, the ship’s crew launched a lifeboat and pulled nine of the fishers out of the choppy waters. The police said at least two fishers were still missing. The fishing boat, owned by Rajesh Mathew of Sakthikulangara, was completely destroyed in the collision.