Navy cadet of Odisha Missing at Sea, State Seeks Centre Help

A young merchant navy cadet from Odisha’s Bhadrak district has gone missing under unexplained circumstances while on duty aboard a vessel near Malaysian waters, prompting the state government to seek urgent intervention from the Centre. 

Odisha’s Principal Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, Vishal Gagan, has written to the Union ministries of external affairs and shipping requesting immediate



assistance in tracing the seafarer, identified as Sarthak Mahapatra.

The 23-year-old Sarthak was serving as a cadet with Anglo-Eastern Ship Management and was part of the crew of the vessel EA Jersey, which was returning to Singapore from West Africa when the incident occurred.

According to preliminary information, he disappeared during duty hours in circumstances that remain unclear.