Oil tanker with 13 Indians on board sinks off Oman coast

MUSCAT: A Comoros-flagged oil tanker, with 13 Indians and three Sri Lankans as crew members, has capsized off the coast of Oman, the country’s Maritime Security Centre said on Tuesday.

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”

A Comoros flagged oil tanker capsized 25 NM southeast of Ras Madrakah. SAR Ops initiated with the relevant authorities. #MaritimeSecurityCentre

— مركز الأمن البحري| MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE (@OMAN_MSC) July 15, 2024

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.

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. (ANI)