Merchant ship stranded off Kakinada coast amid Cyclone Arnab

A Singapore-bound bulk carrier, Sigma Pearl, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, was stranded near the Ravva oilfield off the Kakinada coast.An engine failure is suspected to have caused the vessel to become stranded while navigating through the Ravva oilfield.The vessel last called at Visakhapatnam port, from where it departed at around 12.17 a.m. on October 27, around the time Cyclone Arnab was approaching Yanam before making landfall.The MarineTraffic portal, which tracks vessel movements, showed the status of the ship as “Vessel is out of range”. Its route map indicated that the vessel’s last recorded movement was along its intended route.The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district Information and Public Relations office confirmed to The Hindu on Wednesday that the District Collector, R. Mahesh Kumar, had received a communication about the cargo ship reportedly stranded near Gadimoga on Tuesday.However, district officials were yet to ascertain the number of crew members on board and the vessel’s current status. Published - October 28, 2026 07:26 pm IST