SLNS Vijayabahu CO Captain Lankanatha Dissanayake
Dive team CO Lt. Commander Indika Subasinghe
The bond between mariners, forged in the crucible of vast oceans over millennia, is often tested in the most challenging circumstances. Sri Lanka, as an island nation, is no stranger to emergencies on the seas which make up the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.
One such incident occurred last month, below the equator amidst two developing cyclones, when the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan 028 capsized, taking 39 souls to a watery grave.
Despite the great distance and risk involved, the Sri Lankan warship SLNS Vijayabahu (P627) and a small detachment of specialist divers answered a call for assistance undertaking a high risk rescue and recovery mission by venturing in a patricianly sunk capsized trawler in the high seas.
The mission, the first for the Sri Lanka Navy and carried out in distant waters, won praise from many, with the Chinese Embassy in Colombo felicitating the dive team and the Vijayabahu’s company for their tireless efforts to recover the remains of the fishing vessel’s crew.
Speaking at the occasion, Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera described Sri Lanka’s contribution to the multi-national effort which was underway to aid the stricken fishing trawler: “There is another side to this story. This happened in the Australia SAR region, just outside Sri Lanka’s SAR region. The vessel involved was a Chinese vessel. The crew included Chinese, Indonesian, and Filipino personnel. The ship Vijayabahu was a vessel granted to us by the United States of America and almost 95% of the Sri Lanka diving team who took part in the mission was trained in India. This was, in a way, a truly international effort to help fellow mariners at sea.”
In an interview with The Sunday Morning, the SLN dive team and the Captain of the Vijayabahu shared their story of multinational corporation, professionalism, grit, and camaraderie, in aid of fellow mariners.
Below are excerpts from the interview:
What led to the SLNS Vijayabahu being assigned to assist in the rescue/recovery mission for the fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan 028, which capsized in the high seas south of Sri Lanka?
Captain Dissanayake: The Vijayabahu sailed out from Colombo on a special mission to intercept narcotics trafficking. During the mission, we were alerted by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) that there was a Chinese fishing vessel in distress. So, anticipating that we may be redirected to assist, we made plans for such. After a few hours, MRCC informed us that the fishing vessel had capsized and requested us to respond to search for survivors. At the time, we were 150 nautical miles (NM) from the Galle harbour.
On the advice of the Commander of the Navy, we approached 30 NM, embarked a group of specialist divers, and proceeded to the estimated position of the capsized vessel, arriving in the vicinity on the morning of 20 May. During our transit to the location, we obtained details about the capsized ship, schematics of the vessels, and some pictures of the capsized vessel. We also received instructions from the Commander of the Navy, who happens to be the senior-most diver currently serving, about how to plan the dive.
It took us three days to reach the site. The sea was rough due to cyclone activity and we could only make 13 Knots (speed) as we approached the site. Once we arrived on site, we learnt that there was another fishing vessel of the same class in the vicinity, to which we dispatched members of the dive team so that they could familiarise themselves with it. The position of hatches, access points, and the arrangement of the interior were important information for the divers to plan the rescue dive.
What was the weather like and how did the rescue mission evolve to one of recovery?
Captain Dissanayake: The Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, a 76-metre-long vessel, was capsized and partially sunk, indicating there were air pockets inside. Two cyclones named ‘Moko’ and ‘Fabian’ were developing in the region where the ship had capsized. This impacted the rescue side, creating waves and slowly drifting the capsized vessel, adding to the challenge of diving near it and entering the hull.
We analysed how the state of the sea was evolving and how the current was changing. These assessments are important to plan a dive safely. Due to the risk of dangerous marine life such as sharks, I always deploy our small boats with the dive team with necessary equipment to recover them and offer protection if needed. Vijayabahu has good seakeeping characteristics, so I always kept her one to two cables (200 metres) in proximity to the floating wreck, so as to be able to respond quickly. In planning to help any survivors, we had our ship’s doctor and several trained nurses onboard the ship.
On the first evening (20 May) we carried out a trail dive next to the capsized vessel and found an opening. Later, a dive team entered the vessel through the opening to look for survivors, but found none. We found the body of the Captain in his cabin behind the bridge, so we recovered his corpse, brought it to the surface, and handed it to the Chinese sister vessel which was in the vicinity. By this time it was clear that there may be no survivors.
Our divers observed that none of the emergency life rafts which were on the ship had been deployed, which was an indication – along with the Captain of the ship being found in his cabin and not at the bridge – that the vessel capsized quickly before the ship could be abandoned or damage control done.
How did the SLN divers recover some of the deceased and map the positions of the others within the fishing vessel?
Captain Dissanayake: On day two (21st), our dive team managed to open a main hatch to enter the accommodation area. However, we realised that the open hatch (submerged) made the situation difficult, with water turbulence becoming rough due to the flow of water in the submerged part. On instructions received from Colombo, we closed the hatch again and the divers tried to gain access to the accommodation area of the capsized vessel through the bridge. Then, through a stairwell into the accommodation area, the divers found the corpse of another person, which we recovered and handed over to the Chinese sister vessel in the vicinity.
The situation within the submerged vessel was chaotic and not suitable for diving within – there was floating debris, including nets, furniture, and parts of partition walls, which posed a hazard to our divers.
On the third day (22nd), an early morning dive led to our dive team locating remains of 12 crew members who were stuck in the accommodation section of the vessel. However, due to the bodies decomposing in sea water for several days and being bloated, and the area being dense with debris, it was decided that the recovery of the remains of the 12 was too risky.
As such, we sent pictures and video of the vessel and mapped where the corpses were to Colombo and received advice from the Commander of the Navy to suspend dive operations and to brief an inbound specialist rescue team about the dive conditions and the locations of the corpses. Therefore, the Vijayabahu passed on the information and proceeded to return to base on the night of 22 May.
On 23 May, we met up with the specialist salvage team from Shanghai Salvage Co. onboard their seagoing tug and briefed them about our findings, handing over a map to where the rest of the corpses were. We thought they could better handle the situation as they were better equipped for such missions.
Our return journey was altered again when the MRCC alerted us to a Sri Lankan fisherman who had developed cardiovascular issues aboard a fishing vessel, some 450 nautical miles south of Dondra Point. Therefore, we altered direction and made best speed to assist, bringing the sick fisherman ashore to Galle harbour. He was transferred to Karapitiya Hospital for treatment.
What are your feelings about this mission?
Captain Dissanayake: As sailors, mariners, it’s our responsibility to help anyone in distress at sea, even if it’s beyond our search and rescue region, so if we have the ability to reach someone in trouble and render assistance, we as the Sri Lanka Navy will do so. This mission was an eye opener for us and others in the region about our capabilities. We found some of the bodies, and now at least the families know the outcome. Of course they will grieve, but I think we could offer them some closure.
I am proud of my crew; they did their job, they sailed, redirected from the original mission for a further 750 NM, carried out the mission, and returned with no issues, technical or otherwise. All our systems worked well and the ship’s company worked around the clock to get the mission done.
What were the challenges you faced in planning the dive for this mission?
Lt. Commander Subasinghe: Going by the diagram of the vessel we received, we assessed that it would be a depth of 80-100 feet and as such we planned the dive time. We have to be mindful of decompression sickness, so surfacing quickly was not an option. But given the sea conditions and the fact this was a dive into a submerged ship, we had to take some risks.
We planned for a 30-40 minute dive time based on the scuba cylinder capacity we had. We also had to plan for surface currents and sharks or poisonous jellyfish, so we carried defensive aids and small arms. We rehearsed several times before we hit the water.
How challenging was it to navigate inside the submerged vessel?
Lt. Commander Subasinghe: The water turbulence within the ship’s hull was a major challenge, because it can push and smash us against bulkheads or doors, knocking us unconscious, so we always kept one of the four-man dive teams outside each compartment to help others out or open hatches in case they shut.
The floating debris was also a challenge; it could rupture our breathing apparatus or trap us in a confined area. You must understand that this mission was to venture into an overturned ship, which was submerged and pitch black. Therefore, it was high risk, but we had an experienced team and they were well briefed. Our divers did well.
Another challenge was extracting the bodies; many were bloated and decayed. Such bodies are difficult to handle as the skin comes off when gripped. We had difficulty moving the two bodies we found to the surface, but we managed to do it.
How does handling human remains affect your team emotionally?
Lt. Commander Subasinghe: Well, someone has to do it. Navy divers are often called on to recover victims of drowning. We have war-time experience recovering bodies from the depths too. It is part of the job; we try not to think too much about it. Bringing up the dead will help their relatives come to terms with the death – that thought keeps us going.