A fire broke out in a Palau-flagged tanker carrying a crew of 24 Indians when it was attacked by the US Navy off the coast of Oman on Monday. All crew members of the US-sanctioned ship were later evacuated to safety by the Omani Air Force.
Upesh Kumar Sharma, Director of the Ministry of Shipping, said in a press conference that the crew of the ship MT Marifix, which was not carrying any cargo, reported the fire at 1.30 pm. “The ship was outside the Strait of Hormuz, and was completely clear towards the south,” he added, adding that all crew members were fine.
Several hours later, the crew members were evacuated by an Omani Air Force helicopter. The Indian Embassy in Muscat thanked the Omani authorities for rescuing all 24 Indian crew members in a social media post.
An audio recording of an SOS message sent by the Marivex crew showed a crew member saying the ship was on fire after a “US Navy missile attack on our engine room.”
Marifix has been blacklisted and sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department, people familiar with the matter said, on condition of anonymity. OFAC is the body that acts against ships involved in violating US sanctions on the sale of Iranian and Russian oil.
One of the people said: “The ship does not belong to India. Over the past few days, Marifix has made four attempts to evade the US blockade of Iranian ports.” “On three occasions, the ship turned away after repeated warnings from the US Navy.”
Marivex made a fourth attempt to bypass the US blockade using Omani territorial waters on Monday, the people said. The ship turned off its signaling devices so as not to be detected. This pattern made it clear that the ship’s intentions were not “on deck,” they said.
The Ministry of Shipping coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Mission in Oman, the Ministry of Defense and the Indian Navy to ensure the safety of the crew members.
According to Marinetraffic.com, a website that tracks the movement of commercial ships, the Marivex was sailing from Karwar in Karnataka to Duqm in Oman.
The Advanced Seafarers’ Union of India, one of the oldest organizations representing seafarers in the country, said in a social media post that “the attack on a ship carrying 24 Indian seafarers… is of grave concern.” “FSUI urges rapid and coordinated action to ensure the safety of crew, provide support to their families and maintain the safety of seafarers at sea,” she added.
Oman is located next to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has closed since the conflict with Israel and the United States began in February. The attack on Marifix came against the backdrop of a new escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran since Sunday.
Ten Indians have died in West Asia since the beginning of the conflict, including three sailors killed in attacks on merchant ships in the early days of hostilities.
