Muscat/New Delhi, July 17 (UNI) Thirteen Indian sailors are among a 16-member crew of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that capsized off Oman on Monday night, and are still missing.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said that the crew of ‘Prestige Falcon’ comprised 13 Indians and three Sri Lankans.
According to reports, the 117-meter-long oil ship Prestige Falcon sank 25 nautical miles off Oman's coast near Duqm, late on Monday night.
An Indian Navy warship is carrying out Search & Rescue (SAR) operations in the vicinity of the sinking, while Oman has deployed maritime assets for search operations.
The MT Falcon Prestige had transmitted a distress call around 2200 hrs on July 14 off the coast of Oman.
Maritime Security Centre said the vessel remained “submerged, inverted”. It did not confirm whether the vessel had stabilised or the oil or oil products were leaking from it.
Shipping data by LSEG showed that the tanker was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden and capsized off Oman's major industrial port of Duqm.
Omani authorities conducted a search-and-rescue operation at the scene in co-ordination with maritime authorities, the state news agency reported late on Monday.
The port of Duqm is on Oman's south-west coast, close to the sultanate's main oil and gas projects. These include a major oil refinery in Duqm's vast industrial zone, Oman's biggest single economic project.
UNI RN