Four Die in Grounded Ship During Suspected Theft in Mumbai Waters
Yesterday, four people died aboard a grounded ship in Mumbai waters during what is suspected to be a theft attempt.
Four people died aboard a grounded ship in Mumbai waters during what authorities suspect was an attempted theft, according to The Indian Express. The incident highlights ongoing security concerns around vessels anchored in the area.
Four bodies were recovered from a grounded vessel anchored off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday, in what police and port officials suspect was a fatal attempt to steal scrap metal or equipment from the derelict ship. The deceased, all men believed to be in their 20s and 30s, were found inside the hull of the MV Gurukripa, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier that has been stranded near the Prongs Reef Lighthouse since running aground during Cyclone Tauktae in May 2021 (The Hindu).
The alarm was raised around 6:30 a.m. by the crew of a pilot boat transiting the main shipping channel, who noticed a small, unregistered dinghy tied to the carrier’s rusted ladder and heard no response to hails. A joint team from the Yellow Gate police station, the Mumbai Fire Brigade, and the Directorate General of Shipping boarded the vessel within the hour. They discovered the first two bodies on the main deck near the forward cargo hatch; the other two were located deeper inside the hold, where ventilation is virtually non-existent after years of sealing (Indian Express).
Preliminary investigation suggests the men entered the ship through an open ballast tank manhole, likely intending to strip copper wiring, brass fittings, or steel plate from the abandoned superstructure. "The vessel has been a sitting target for scrap collectors ever since the insurers declared it a total loss," a senior Yellow Gate officer said, requesting anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing. "But the holds are death traps — oxygen levels drop below 6 percent within metres of the hatch coaming." Forensic teams recovered gas-cutting torches, hacksaws, and empty oxygen cylinders near the bodies, though it remains unclear whether the victims brought their own breathing apparatus or relied on the cylinders found at the scene (Indian Express).
The MV Gurukripa was en route from Kandla to China with a cargo of bauxite when Cyclone Tauktae drove it onto the rocky shoals off Colaba. The 22-member crew was evacuated safely by the Coast Guard, but the ship’s back was broken and the hull flooded. Since then, the wreck has sat in the formal anchorage area, its ownership tangled in arbitration between the registered owner, a Singapore-based shell company, and the cargo insurers. The Mumbai Port Authority issued a wreck-removal notice in 2023, but legal stays and the absence of a clear salvor have left the hulk in place, marked only by a solitary buoy and a notation on admiralty charts (The Hindu).
Wednesday’s deaths are the first recorded fatalities aboard the Gurukripa, though local fishermen have long reported seeing small boats approaching the wreck at night. The Yellow Gate police have registered an accidental death report under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and ordered post-mortem examinations at J.J. Hospital to confirm whether the cause was asphyxiation, toxic gas inhalation, or structural collapse. The Directorate General of Shipping has separately ordered a safety audit of all grounded vessels in Mumbai waters — currently numbering eleven — to assess access controls and hazard signage. Until that audit is complete, the Gurukripa remains a known hazard on the charts, unguarded save for the tide and the rust.
Indian Express