The Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner sank on August 21, 2026, in the Bay of Bengal off eastern India after capsizing and going down within eight minutes, Indian authorities said [1, 2]. The ship had departed Paradip port in Odisha late on August 20, fully loaded with 71,200 tons of iron ore bound for Singapore and then China [1, 2].

There were 24 crew members aboard: 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh [1]. Two Chinese crew were rescued on August 22 after being spotted on a life raft approximately 700 kilometers east of Visakhapatnam by an Indian navy aircraft, which coordinated with nearby merchant ship MT Aisopos to conduct the rescue [1, 2, 3]. The Indian Navy said, "The aircraft located life rafts in the area and coordinated with a nearby vessel, MT Aisopos, to rescue two crew members" [3].

The remaining 22 crew members are still missing. Indian Coast Guard and Navy vessels continue active search and rescue operations to locate them [1, 4, 2, 5]. Shyam Jagannathan, Director General of Shipping, India, said, "The vessel capsized and sank within 8 minutes. The rescued crew stated they were forced to abandon the ship urgently" [1].

Built in 1998 with a gross tonnage of 39,755 tons, the vessel was transferred in 2023 to Ocean Winner Shipping Co Ltd, a China-based company operating this single bulk carrier from Fuzhou [1, 2, 6]. The cause of the sudden capsize and sinking remains under investigation and is currently unknown [1, 2, 5].

The ship sent a distress signal before going down about 240 nautical miles from Paradip port [1, 5]. The rapid sinking left crew little time to react, forcing an emergency abandonment as reported by rescued survivors [1, 2].

Search and rescue efforts are ongoing today, August 23, led by Indian Coast Guard and Navy assets in the area [1, 4]. Authorities have not announced any further survivors as operations continue.

The search area remains approximately 700 kilometers east of Visakhapatnam. Investigations to determine the cause of the accident are underway.