Muscat: Amidst the ongoing tension in the Gulf region, a very scary news is emerging from the coast of Oman. An Indian trawler carrying 14 Indian crew members has met with an accident off the coast of Oman, sending shock waves through the Indian maritime community. According to information received from the Indian Embassy in Muscat, Indian flagged mechanized sailing ship (Dhau) MSV Viraat 1 got into a major crisis in the sea about 80 nautical miles away from Ras Al Hadh area of Oman.
Initial reports said that this Indian ship was sinking in the sea, after which a massive search and rescue operation was launched at the international level. The Indian Navy immediately took command of the relief operations in coordination with Omani authorities and ships of other countries present in that maritime area. It is a matter of relief that all the sailors on board the ship are said to be safe with the help of life rafts, but how this accident happened is still being investigated.
According to the information, the Indian Dhow MSV Viraat 1 was wavering in the waves 80 nautical miles away from Ras Al Hadd located on the east coast of Oman and started sinking in the water. As soon as it was reported that the condition of the 14 Indian crew members on board was critical, the International Maritime Assistance Network was immediately activated without wasting any time. However, it is not yet officially clear whether there was a sudden technical fault behind the sinking of the ship, bad weather at sea was responsible or there is some other major reason behind it.
As soon as the news of this horrific accident in the middle of the sea was received, the Indian Navy immediately came into action and diverted its warships towards the affected sea area. The Indian Embassy has also confirmed that they are in constant touch with the concerned Omani officials and other merchant vessels present in the vicinity of the incident site. The sole objective of this entire sea rescue operation is to safely evacuate all the 14 Indian crew members and confirm their health. Since the first few hours are the most precious during any emergency at sea, all relief agencies are operating on a war footing.
In this very critical and challenging time, an American P-8 Maritime Patrol aircraft patrolling the sea played the role of angel for the distressed Indian sailors. The American plane immediately showed understanding after seeing the sinking ship and dropped a life raft directly into the sea from the air. It is being told that all the 14 Indian crew members on board the ship were completely successful in reaching the life raft by showing wisdom and at present they are all safe in it. However, final confirmation of the final rescue is still awaited from Indian and Omani authorities.
This tragic accident has happened at a sensitive time when the security situation around Oman and the Strait of Hormuz has been in the news for the last few weeks. Just a few days ago, three Indian sailors lost their lives due to attacks on commercial ships with Indian crew in the same area. Amidst this turbulent environment of the Gulf, the news of the sinking of MSV Viraat 1 has increased the heartbeats of the families of Indian sailors. At present, everyone’s eyes are fixed on the next update of this rescue operation and the real reasons for the sinking of the ship.
