In a remarkable display of swift and efficient response, the Indian Coast Guard successfully averted a potential environmental disaster on Thursday when they rescued NIO’s research ship RV Sindhu Sadhana, with a crew of 36 and eight eminent scientists.

The vessel had suffered engine failure and was drifting perilously close to Karwar in Karnataka, and posed a threat of running aground that could have resulted in a major oil spill, said an official of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).