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14 Indian sailors rescued after vessel engine failure off Oman coast
India said it had earlier received information about an incident involving the Indian-flagged mechanised sailing vessel Virat 1 off the coast of Oman
- PUBLISHED: Sun 14 Jun 2026, 5:05 PM UPDATED: Sun 14 Jun 2026, 9:09 PM
All 14 crew members aboard the MSC Virat 1 have been rescued and safely taken on board the MV Jabal Ali 9, according to the Indian Embassy in Muscat, Oman.
"All 14 crew members have been rescued and are presently onboard Jabal Ali 9 heading to Mumbai . The crew members are safe and in good health," the Indian embassy said.
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The rescue took place during a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea. Earlier, the embassy confirmed that it had received information about an incident involving the Indian-flagged mechanised sailing vessel Virat 1 off the coast of Oman, carrying 14 Indian crew members.
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Preliminary reports indicated that the vessel suffered an engine failure, after which the crew safely transferred to a liferaft before rescue teams reached the site.
Search and rescue efforts were immediately launched in coordination with the Omani authorities and nearby vessels in the vicinity of the incident.
The incident comes amid a series of maritime emergencies in the region, including an earlier operation in which Indian Navy helicopters airlifted 24 sailors from a tanker on fire off the coast of Oman on June 8, officials said.
India's Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said a fire was reported at around 1.30 pm (0800 GMT) on the MT Marivex, a Palau-flagged tanker.
Images posted on social media by the Forward Seamen's Union of India showed crew members being winched from the vessel by helicopter as thick black smoke billowed from its bridge and accommodation cabins.
The tanker's position was shown by ship-tracking service MarineTraffic as being off the coast of Oman, south of the capital Muscat.
Indian authorities did not provide details about the extent of the damage to the vessel and did not indicate what may have sparked the fire.
Iran has largely blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28. The vital waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments in peacetime.
New Delhi's foreign ministry condemned recent violence in a statement on June 8.
"This conflict has now lasted over 100 days and has already caused immense human suffering," it said.
"It has also had a debilitating impact on the global economy and energy supplies."
(With inputs from AFP)
