'Engine failure' sinks Indian vessel off Oman coast; 14 onboard safe

The Indian Embassy in Muscat confirmed all 14 crew members of MSV Virat 1 were rescued, while efforts continue to repatriate a deceased Indian sailor from Oman

The Indian mission in Muscat was quick to clarify on Sunday that all 14 crew members of an Indian-flagged merchant vessel, MSV Virat1, were evacuated after it sank following an engine failure in the Gulf of Oman. 

 

India’s Embassy in Muscat also said that an Indian national, Nishanth Uirthanathan, who was on board MT Celestial, currently docked at Duqm port, passed away due to medical complications, and efforts are on to repatriate his body at the earliest.

 

The clarifications by India’s Embassy in Oman came fast on a day that the Congress and other opposition parties stepped up their criticism of the government for its alleged failure to stand up to Washington to protect the lives of Indian seafarers.

 

 

The Congress also sought to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will raise the issue of the US military’s lethal strikes on vessels that have Indian sailors with US President Donald Trump when the two meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Evian later this week. The US Navy has targeted three ships with Indian crews in the Gulf of Oman in the past week, killing three sailors.

 

On Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the killing of three Indian mariners in a US military strike in the Gulf of Oman. “Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. 

 

Later in the evening, the US State Department said Rubio stressed that all commercial vessels must comply with orders from US forces to uphold peace and security in the Strait of Hormuz. 

 

“Rubio underscored that violations of the US blockade and the illicit transport of Iranian oil will not be tolerated,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department Tommy Pigott said.

 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned US Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks twice in the last week, on Wednesday evening and again on Friday. He was told that the American military’s lethal strikes on three commercial vessels with Indian crew members off the coast of Oman are unacceptable. 

 

A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued. On June 10, the US struck another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, killing three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board. Another vessel, Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indians, was attacked on Thursday.

 

The Congress kept up the pressure on the government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said of Jaishankar and Rubio’s conversation, “Just days after three Indian sailors were killed in American attacks, there is neither regret nor apology. On the contrary, the US continues to issue orders.”