INS Tabar rescues 14 crew members after oil tanker catches fire in Gulf of Oman

OMAN : Indian Navy’s INS Tabar responded swiftly to rescue crew members in the Gulf of Oman as a fire broke out on an oil vessel on Sunday, June 29. The Navy responded to a distress call from the Palau-flagged MT Yi Cheng 6 which was carrying 14 Indian crew members. The vessel was travelling from Kandla, India to Shinas, Oman, when a fire erupted in its engine room, followed by a complete power failure.

“Indian Navy’s stealth frigate INS Tabar, mission deployed in the Gulf of Oman, responded to a distress call from Pulau flagged MT Yi Cheng 6, on June 29,” the Navy said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

“The vessel with 14 crew members of Indian origin, transiting from Kandla, India to Shinas, Oman, experienced a major fire in the engine room and total power failure onboard, The fire fighting team and equipment from INS Tabar were transferred onboard by the ship’s boat and helicopter, 13 Indian naval personnel and 5 crew members of the stricken tanker are currently involved in firefighting operations, with intensity of fire onboard reduced drastically.” it added.

In response to the distress alert, firefighting personnel and equipment from INS Tabar were dispatched to the tanker using both the ship’s boat and helicopter.

Naval interventions at sea

This is the latest in a series of maritime rescue missions undertaken by the Indian Navy. Earlier in June, a similar operation was carried out to assist the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire off the Kerala coast.

The Navy deployed a salvage team using a Seaking helicopter from the Southern Naval Command in Kochi despite rough sea conditions, as per News18.

The vessel, travelling from Colombo to Mumbai was at risk of drifting towards the shore after one of its containers exploded on board.