The 13 Indian nationals, crew members of the Comoros-flagged oil tanker 'Prestige Falcon' that sunk off Oman, remained missing on Wednesday too, a day after Omani authorities confirmed the vessel capsized. Besides 13 Indians, the crew of "Prestige Falcon" comprised three Sri Lankan nationals too.
India's Defence sources told ANI the Indian Navy warship INS Teg has been deployed along with maritime surveillance aircraft P-8I to aid Omani vessels and personnel in carrying out search and rescue missions. "The Indian warship was carrying out an operational turnaround in the area from where it was directed on July 15 to carry out search and rescue missions. The warship had located the capsizing oil tanker on July 16 morning," defence sources added.
The latest post by Oman Maritime Security Centre said search and rescue operations were still ongoing to locate the crew. The Omani centre told Reuters that the vessel remains "submerged, inverted". However, it is still unclear whether there was an oil spill.
As per the shipping data, the vessel was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden and capsized off Oman's major industrial port of Duqm. The vessel is a 117-metre-long oil products tanker built in 2007 and mostly used for short coastal voyages, Reuters quoted the shipping data.
Houthi attack
Amid the mystery surrounding the Prestige Falcon, Yemeni militant group Houthis attacked two vessels off the Yemen coast on Monday.
As per reports, three small Houthi vessels, two of which were crewed and another uncrewed, targeted MT Bently I, a Panama-flagged and Israeli-owned vessel, off the coast of Al Hudaydah, Yemen. "The unmanned small craft reportedly collided with the vessel twice and the 2 manned small craft fired at the vessel," the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported. The vessel conducted self-protection measures, after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack."
The vessel's captain later reported three separate waves of missile attacks that exploded near it.
The Houthis also launched a UAV at MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged and Marshall Islands-owned oil tanker, off the same coast. The UAV hit the vessel on the port side causing some damage and light smoke.
Both ships and all crew were reported safe, the UKMTO said in a warning to mariners.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bently I and Chios Lion. The rebels have targeted more than 70 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign, killing four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two since November.
