A small cargo ship sank off the coast of Kerala, India, late on Tuesday 20 October 2026. The ship's master said a fishing boat hit it. All eight crew members were rescued. They were brought ashore safely on the morning of Wednesday 21 October.
The ship was Jesus Heart, an MSV (mechanised sailing vessel). In India, this name is used for small cargo ships with sails and an engine. Many of them are built of wood.
What happened
Jesus Heart was sailing from Beypore, a port in Kozhikode, Kerala, to Kavaratti in the Lakshadweep islands. It carried about 160 tonnes of building materials and other goods, The Hindu reported.
The ship sank late on 20 October, about 18 to 20 nautical miles off the Beypore coast. The Hindu gives the time as about 23:25 local time. A navigation warning for the area (NAVAREA VIII 1098/26) gives the position as about 11°07.5'N, 075°30.6'E. It tells ships to take care when they pass.
How the crew were rescued
The crew called for help on VHF radio right after the collision, the Coast Guard told Onmanorama. A nearby tug, Resco 4, answered the call. It was working with the survey ship Eagle Explorer in the area. The tug picked up all eight crew at about 23:40.
The Coast Guard ship C-144 left Beypore at 05:30 on 21 October. It took the eight survivors from the tug and brought them to Beypore Harbour. It also searched about three nautical miles around the place where the ship sank. It found no wreckage and no oil. The water there is about 36 metres deep.
Doctors checked the crew in Beypore. All eight were in good health. They were then handed over to the Beypore Coastal Police, who are looking into the accident.
What the master said
The master told the Coast Guard that a fishing boat with a blue hull hit the right (starboard) side of his ship, near the front. He said this happened at about 22:30. The hit damaged the hull. Water came in, and the ship flooded and sank. The fishing boat has not been found.
Sources give slightly different times and distances. No official report on the accident has been published. The names and nationalities of the crew have not been published either. Officials at Beypore Port said the fast help prevented a much worse accident.
Small cargo ships like this carry much of the food and building material that the Lakshadweep islands need. Beypore is also known for building traditional wooden ships, called uru in Malayalam.
What crews on small cargo ships can do
All eight crew survived because they called for help at once and a ship nearby answered. These simple points help crews on small coastal ships:
Keep a good lookout at all times, also at night. Watch for small fishing boats, which may have weak lights.
Call for help early. If the ship takes on water or starts to list, send a distress call at once on VHF channel 16.
Know your position at all times, so you can give it quickly in a distress call.
Keep lifejackets where every crew member can reach them fast, also at night.
Check that the liferaft, lifebuoys and any emergency beacon are in good condition before the ship leaves port.
Practise abandon ship drills, so everyone knows what to do in the dark.
Cover photo: Traditional ship carpenters working on a wooden uru that carries cargo to Lakshadweep, at Beypore, October 2016. This is an illustrative photo, not the ship in this story. Photo: Shyamal/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sources: The Hindu: Cargo vessel sinks off Beypore coast; all eight crew members rescued (21 Oct 2026), Asianet News (Malayalam): Cargo ship MSV Jesus Heart sinks off Beypore, Coast Guard rescues all eight crew (21 Oct 2026), NAVAREA VIII warning 1098/26: MSV Jesus Heart reported sunk off Beypore, Onmanorama: Tug Resco 4, Coast Guard rescue eight crew members of sunken dhow off Beypore (21 Oct 2026).
