Indian Navy launches rescue operation as sailors go missing

Sixteen crew members are missing after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman
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An oil tanker carrying 16 crew has capsized off the coast of Oman

India has launched a rescue operation after an oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman. All 16 crew members are currently missing, 13 of whom are Indian nationals, while three are from Sri Lanka.

Several Indian media outlets reported on Wednesday that the Indian Navy had deployed INS Teg, Russian-built Talwar-class frigate, and a P-8I surveillance aircraft to take part in the search mission in coordination with the Omani authorities.

The Comorian-flagged Prestige Falcon tanker capsized around 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah, near the port town of Duqm, Oman’s Maritime Security Center said on Monday. It added that the search and rescue operations had been launched.

The vessel was headed for the Yemeni port city of Aden after setting off from Hamriya Port in Dubai, according to shipping website marinetraffic.com. Oman’s Duqm Port, near where the incident occurred, is located in the southeast of the country, close to the Sultanate’s major oil, gas, and mining projects.

Updates regarding the recent capsizing incident of the Comoros flagged oil tanker southeast of Ras Madrakah pic.twitter.com/PxVLxlTQGD

— مركز الأمن البحري| MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE (@OMAN_MSC) July 16, 2024

The Indian Navy had earlier intensified its maritime operation codenamed ‘Sankalp’ (loosely translated as “resolution”), which is primarily focused on guaranteeing the safe transit of Indian-flagged vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The move came in response to tensions in the Red Sea caused by the Israel-Hamas war. Since the outbreak of the conflict in October, Yemen-based Houthi rebels have launched multiple attacks on Israel-linked vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea “in solidarity” with Gaza.

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Indian officials have expressed concern at the targeting of commercial vessels, which is impacting its trade and commercial links in the region. Piracy has also returned for the first time in nearly a decade. Since November, pirates have executed or attempted more than a dozen hijackings. In March, Indian warship INS Kolkata intercepted the MV Ruen, a Bulgarian-owned, Maltese-flagged bulk cargo ship almost 2,600km west of the Indian coast and, after a 40-hour operation, more than 35 pirates were forced to surrender.

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