According to naval officials, they received a request from the agents of the MV Iran Shariati for the evacuation of 20-year-old Toumaj Oughoul, the wife of the third officer on the bulk carrier.

The ship had sailed out of Singapore for Iran a week ago. ``Soon after, my wife fell sea sick, she began vomitting and stopped eating and became very weak,'' says husband Khojkhdordi Arekh speaking from her bedside at the Breach Candy hospital.

The ship took radio medical advice from Colombo and headed for Mumbai. By then, Toumaj's condition had become critical, demanding urgent medical attention.

``But we had a problem, as the ship had a draught of 45 feet and Mumbai port could admit ships only upto 35 feet,'' says Captain Homi Treasuryvala of the ship's agent JM Baxi.

So the ship was steered some 90 nautical miles off the city coast, wellwithin the range of the Indian Navy's helicopters. The navy was alerted and a Chetak helicopter despatched towards the ship moored at the outer anchorage.

``It was a particularly difficult operation. Though we were anchored, the helicopter couldn't land as the ship was rolling and pitching,'' recalls Arekh. The ship started her engines and began moving to stabilise herself, after which the helicopter landed on the cargo hatch of the vessel at around 4.20 pm.

In an operation lasting 20 minutes, the helicopter evacuated the pregnant lady and her husband, landing in the INS Kunjali helibase from where she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.