Seafarers urged to exercise caution as sunken boat drifts off

Seafarers have been urged to exercise caution at sea, due to a boat that sank eight nautical miles southwest of Ithaafushi Resort, drifting at sea.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) revealed that the boat sank off Ithaafushi Resort, due to the adverse weather conditions the Maldives is currently experiencing.

The sunken boat is drifting off southeast-ward, according to MNDF.

With this, seafarers have been urged to be cautious, especially while traveling in the region at night.

The boat named ‘Ricardo’ sank en route to Mahibadhoo island of Alif Dhaal atoll, from capital Malé City, on Wednesday night. The vessel was mostly carrying goods.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed that the Alif Dhaal police speedboat headed to the region immediately and rescued eight people onboard the sinking boat.

According to the Maldives Meteorological Service (MMS), scattered rain with a few heavy showers and thunderstorms will prevail in central and northern atolls with isolated showers expected in the south over the next few hours.

Winds will be south to southwesterly at 5 – 15 miles per hour in southern atolls and southwest to westerly at 13 – 23 miles per hour elsewhere and may gust 45 miles per hour during showers.

Throughout the next few hours, seas are expected to be slight in southern atolls and rough elsewhere with a wave height of 4 – 7 feet in central and northern atolls and 2 – 4 feet in the south.

Due to the possibility of wave surges during high tide times in central and northern atolls, seafarers are advised to practice caution.

The department has been issuing a number of white and yellow alerts across the country due to the adverse weather conditions, over the past few days.

This year’s southwest monsoon commenced at the beginning of May.