India, Oct. 30 -- The Indian Coast Guard on Thursday evening rescued all 20 crew members of the Philippine cargo vessel Sigma Pearl after it was stranded in the Bay of Bengal off the Andhra Pradesh coast amid adverse weather conditions caused by severe Cyclone Arnab on Wednesday afternoon, an official statement said.

The vessel, which was carrying sulphur, reportedly suffered an engine failure while sailing from Visakhapatnam to Singapore after unloading cargo at the port. Unable to continue its voyage amid rough seas and strong winds, the ship drifted off course and ran aground near Antarvedi-Mogaltur, close to the Ravva oil field in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin.

"The rescue operation was completed by Thursday evening, averting a po...