Sanctioned vessel hit by US strike, 24 Indian crew members evacuated

An unladen oil tanker with 24 Indian crew members caught fire near Oman on Monday afternoon after it was disabled by a US strike. A shipping ministry official said all the Indian seafarers were safe and had been evacuated with help from Oman.

It is learnt that the Palau-flagged MT MARIVEX is blacklisted by the US OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) and is not owned by India. It was apparently hit while trying to evade the US blockade.

Opesh Kumar Sharma, a director in the shipping ministry, said the ship was well outside the Strait of Hormuz when the fire broke out.

According to sources, over the last several days, the vessel made four attempts to evade the US blockade. On three occasions, the vessel turned away after repeated warnings by the US navy.

On June 8, the ship made another attempt to run past the blockade by using Omani territorial waters. It switched off its signal devices to go undetected.

“This pattern makes it clear that its intention was not above board. The ship was in an unladen state when it was disabled,” said a source on condition of anonymity.

In a post on X, India embassy in Muscat said, “We are thankful to the Omani authorities for their swift response and rescue of all the 24 crew members of Indian nationality, onboard MT Marivex, and ensuring their safety.”

Responding to questions, Sharma said, “Whether the ship was hit by a projectile or not, presently we are trying to get information on that. As you are aware, the fire incident occurred at 1:30 today (Monday)... We are in touch with the owners, and we are trying to ascertain the facts. We are also in touch with the external affairs ministry and our mission in Oman."

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