On October 25–26, 2025, the Indian Coast Guard completed a coordinated sea rescue operation that saved 31 fishermen who had been adrift for 11 days in the Arabian Sea. The disabled fishing boat, Sant Anton-1, suffered a steering failure and drifted a long distance before being sighted by an aircraft and reached by the Coast Guard ship ICGS Kasturba Gandhi. The rescued crew were evacuated, given medical checks, and the disabled boat was secured and towed to Honnavar harbour.
How the situation unfolded
The fishing boat Sant Anton-1, which fishes out of Goa, was last reported about 100 nautical miles off New Mangalore and was officially reported missing on October 24, 2025. Adverse weather in the region, strong winds and rough seas hampered early location efforts and caused the vessel to drift for days. The Indian Coast Guard launched a search operation that combined aerial surveillance, surface craft, and real-time weather drift modelling.
A Dornier aircraft from the Coast Guard’s Kochi base sighted Sant Anton-1 on October 25, and the on-patrol offshore patrol vessel ICGS Kasturba Gandhi was diverted to the boat’s updated position. Using live meteorological inputs, the Coast Guard plotted the probable drift path and directed search assets to the most likely area a key example of modern sea rescue planning.
The rescue operation and response
When ICGS Kasturba Gandhi reached the scene, the crew found the fishing boat with steering gear failure and the fishermen on board fatigued but alive. The Indian Coast Guard evacuated the fishermen adrift, performed damage assessment of the vessel, assisted with watertight checks, and provided immediate on-site repairs where possible. The Coast Guard’s support included medical screening and basic supplies for the rescued men. The disabled boat was later taken in tow by another fishing vessel to Honnavar fishing harbour.
This chain of actions, aerial spotting, diversion of a patrol ship, evacuation of crew, on-site repairs, and towing of the disabled boat shows the layered capabilities the Indian Coast Guard brings to a complex fishermen rescue scenario.
Conditions that made the mission hard
Weather conditions played a major role in both creating the emergency and complicating the search. Rough seas and heavy winds spread drift trajectories and reduced visibility, making the initial search challenging. The Coast Guard’s use of drift modelling and real-time weather data was essential to narrowing the search corridor and finding the Sant Anton-1 after more than a week at sea. That coordination was decisive in turning a long-running distress case into a successful sea rescue outcome.
Human impact: the fishermen and their ordeal
Being adrift for 11 days is a severe physical and psychological experience. The 31 rescued fishermen faced dehydration risk, exposure to sun and sea, and uncertainty about rescue. The Indian Coast Guard crews who conducted the fishermen rescue provided emergency medical checks and assistance that likely prevented a far worse outcome. Stories like these remind us that maritime professions remain risky, and that timely, capable rescue services are a lifeline for coastal communities.
Technical and procedural lessons
Several practical lessons come from this incident for operators, regulators, and coastal communities:
- Maintenance and checks: Steering gear failure was the initiating technical fault. Regular maintenance and pre-departure checks can reduce such catastrophic failures that leave fishermen adrift.
- Communications and emergency beacons: Reliable communications and the use of emergency position-indicating radio beacons (EPIRBs) or satellite messaging could shorten search times and reduce drift exposure.
- Drift modelling in search planning: The Coast Guard’s real-time drift predictions show how science and operations must pair in modern sea rescue planning.
- Community readiness: Nearby fisheries and small craft provide key support (in this case towing to Honnavar) once immediate risk is resolved, underscoring the value of local coordination for any fishermen rescue.
What authorities did right
The Indian Coast Guard demonstrated core search-and-rescue strengths: rapid deployment of airborne reconnaissance, diversion of an on-patrol ship, use of weather and drift analytics, and coordinated handover to local fishing authorities. The sequence — sighting by aircraft, surface confirmation by ICGS Kasturba Gandhi, evacuation, and towing — is textbook sea rescue response executed under difficult weather conditions. The rescue will likely be used as a case study in regional SAR (Search and Rescue) training.
Also read: Union Minister Launches Eight New Projects as New Mangalore Port Authority Marks Golden Jubilee
Coastal safety and maritime policy
India’s long coastline and busy fishing sectors make regular fishermen rescue and sea rescue operations inevitable. Incidents like the Sant Anton-1 case highlight the continuing need for investment in coastal safety infrastructure: more effective weather alerting for small boats, wider distribution of EPIRBs, training in emergency seamanship, and stronger links between local fishing communities and rescue agencies. The Indian Coast Guard remains the primary responder, but reducing incidents requires a whole-of-sector approach.
Advice for fishers and coastal communities
For fishers and small-boat operators, common-sense precautions save lives: check steering and propulsion systems before leaving port, carry a working GPS and an EPIRB or satellite communicator, file a float plan with local harbour authorities, and maintain weather awareness. When an engine or steering failure happens far offshore, early distress alerts sharply increase the chances of a timely sea rescue. The recent fishermen rescue is a clear reminder of that reality.
Source (Maritime Executive)
