Written By Lisa Murimi
A search operation is in progress to locate 16 missing crew members, 13 of whom are Indian, after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman.
An Indian official informed the BBC that the foreign ministry is coordinating the search with Oman’s maritime authorities.
Omani officials reported late on Monday that the oil tanker, Prestige Falcon, capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah peninsula. Three of the missing crew members are Sri Lankan.
The Comoros-flagged vessel was en route to the port of Aden in Yemen when it capsized. India’s navy has joined the search and rescue operations, according to the Indian official.
The vessel transmitted a distress call around 22:00 local time (16:30 GMT) on Sunday. Officials from Oman’s Maritime Security Centre told Reuters on Tuesday that the vessel remained “submerged, inverted” but did not confirm if it had stabilized.
Oman’s defense ministry, which runs the center, did not respond to BBC’s inquiries about whether the tanker’s contents had spilled into the sea. The 117.4m-long tanker was built in 2007, according to MarineTraffic.com. The ship capsized in the Duqm province, home to a massive industrial port.
Indians form a significant portion of the global maritime workforce and frequently face accidents or piracy. In April, 17 Indian crew members of MSC Aries were stuck when Iranian troops seized the vessel, only to be released after negotiations. In 2022, 16 Indian crew members were held by Equatorial Guinea’s navy for nine months.
