A Palau-flagged tanker carrying 24 Indian crew members caught fire off the coast of Oman on Monday. The vessel, MT Marivex, was later evacuated, and a swift rescue operation brought all crew members to safety. Officials said the ship was not carrying cargo at the time of the incident. According to shipping ministry sources, the crew first reported the fire at around 1.30 pm.
Fire Breaks Out Off Oman
The incident unfolded in waters south of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route already facing heightened regional tensions. Authorities confirmed that emergency coordination began immediately after they received the distress alert.
🇮🇳 🇺🇸⚡️US Navy attack on a Mariox tanker, which is subject to anti-Iranian sanctions, off the coast of Oman. There were 24 Indian sailors on this tanker.
According to the Indian Mariners Union, all crew members were evacuated by helicopter. https://t.co/tKTSrSrHj9 pic.twitter.com/ocU1lneDB1
— PAryan 8🪽8 (@RebelGoy88) June 8, 2026
‘The vessel was well out of the Strait of Hormuz and well clear to the south,’ Opesh Kumar Sharma, director in the shipping ministry, told a media briefing, adding that all crew members were safe.
An audio recording of a distress call from the crew captured the intensity of the situation at sea. The vessel was on fire after a ‘US Navy attack by missile on our engine room.’ The message indicated that the engine room had been hit, triggering a fire onboard and forcing the crew to issue an SOS.
Oman Air Force Conducts High-Risk Evacuation
Several hours after the fire was reported, the Oman Air Force airlifted the crew of the MT Marivex. Indian authorities confirmed that they had safely evacuated all 24 crew members. The Indian embassy in Muscat also expressed gratitude to Omani authorities for their swift rescue effort, highlighting coordinated action between multiple agencies to ensure the safety of the seafarers.
Investigators and officials later pointed to the vessel’s sanction status and prior movements as part of the broader context of the incident. People familiar with the matter said, on condition of anonymity, Marivex had been blacklisted and sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Treasury Department. OFAC takes action against vessels that violate US sanctions on the sale of Iranian and Russian oil.
‘The vessel is not Indian-owned. Over the last few days, Marivex made four attempts to evade the US blockade of Iranian ports,’ one of the people said. ‘On three occasions, the vessel turned away after repeated warnings from the US Navy. ‘ The people said Marivex made a fourth attempt to get past the US blockade by using Oman’s territorial waters on Monday. The vessel switched off its signal devices so that it could go undetected. This pattern made it clear that the vessel’s intentions were not ‘above board,’ they said.
Multi-Agency Coordination
The shipping ministry worked closely with the external affairs ministry, the Indian mission in Oman, the defence ministry and the Indian Navy to ensure the safety of the crew members. Tracking data from marinetraffic.com indicated that MT Marivex had been sailing from Karwar in Karnataka to Duqm in Oman, a route passing through sensitive maritime zones near the Gulf region.
The Forward Seamen’s Union of India issued a strong statement expressing concern over the incident. ‘The attack on a vessel carrying 24 Indian seafarers…is a matter of serious concern.’ It added, ‘FSUI urges swift and coordinated action to ensure the safety of the crew, provide support to their families, and uphold the security of seafarers at sea.’
The incident comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, where maritime security has been increasingly volatile due to ongoing conflicts involving Israel, Iran, and the United States. Reports also indicate multiple Indian seafarer casualties in the region since the conflict began, adding to concerns over the safety of commercial shipping lanes.
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