A US Navy rescue operation saved 14 Indian crew members after their Indian-flagged vessel, MSV Virat 1, began sinking about 80 nautical miles east of Ras Al Hadd off Oman’s coast on Sunday morning. A US Navy P8 Maritime Patrol aircraft dropped a life raft and monitored the crew embarking it, while all 14 sailors safely boarded the raft.
The Indian Embassy in Oman confirmed the incident involved an Indian-flagged mechanised sailing vessel that experienced engine failure. The crew was transferred safely to the life raft, and a rescue operation is underway through ships in the vicinity under coordination with Omani authorities.
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MV Jabal Ali 9, a St Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel with Mumbai as its next port of call, was requested by the US Navy’s P8 to assist and is now in the vicinity. Indian naval authorities and shipping directorate sources confirmed the developments, while the embassy is coordinating search and rescue operations with Oman
