Oman: 16 missing after oil tanker capsizes

Oman’s Maritime Security Centre (MSC) said on Tuesday that 16 crew members of an oil tanker are missing after the vessel capsized off the sultanate’s coast.

“A Comoros-flagged oil tanker capsized 25 [nautical miles] south-east of Ras Madrakah,” said the MSC, which is run by the Omani Ministry of Defence,. No further information was provided.

Another post on X gave the ship’s name, Prestige Falcon, and stated that of the 16 crew members, 13 have Indian nationality and three are Sri Lankan. “The ship’s crew is still missing,” the post added.

According to ship tracking service MarineTraffic, the tanker was heading towards the Yemeni coastal city of Aden.

The Houthi group, which has controlled parts of Yemen since 2014, has been targeting ships heading to Israeli ports or those owned by Israeli companies in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean for months, in what it stated is retaliation for the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

READ: Tanker assesses possible oil spill after Houthi Red Sea attack, maritime centre says