July 19, 2024
NEW DELHI – A Comoros-flagged oil tanker, MT Falcon Prestige, with 13 Indians and 3 Sri Lankans as crew members has capsized off the coast of Oman, the country’s Maritime Security Centre said.
The capsized Comoros flagged vessel transmitted a distress call around 10 pm on July 14 off the coast of Oman.
“The merchant vessel has a crew of 16, of which 13 are Indian seafarers. The vessel seems to have capsized,” the source said.
A source said the Indian Embassy in Oman is in constant touch with the Omani authorities.
“A search and rescue operation for the seafarers, coordinated by the Oman Maritime Security Center (OMSC), is on. The Indian Navy has also joined the search and rescue operations,” sources said.
Indian Navy’s warship INS Teg has been deployed along with maritime surveillance aircraft P-8I along with the Omani vessels and personnel to carry out search and rescue missions after a Comoros-flagged vessel with its crew, including 13 Indians capsized.
The Indian warship was carrying out an operational turnaround in the area from where it was directed on July 15 to carry out search and rescue missions. The warship had located the capsizing oil tanker on July 16 morning.
The oil tanker, Prestige Falcon, capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah. This is near the Omani port of Duqm.
The Maritime Security Centre said in a post on X, “A Comoros-flagged oil tanker capsized 25 NM southeast of Ras Madrakah. SAR Ops initiated with the relevant authorities. #MaritimeSecurityCentre”
The tanker was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden, according to shipping data by LSEG.
The vessel is a 117-metre-long oil products tanker built in 2007, LSEG’s shipping data showed. Such small tankers are generally deployed for short voyages.
Earlier, on November 27, a cargo ship carrying 14 crew members including Indian crew members, sank off the coast of Lesbos island in Greece due to high-speed winds. The Comoros-flagged ship Raptor, which was travelling from Dekheila, Egypt to Istanbul carrying a load of salt, sank 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km) southwest of Lesbos.