Panama-flag tanker attacked off Oman with two seafarers missing

Oman's Maritime Security Centre said on Tuesday that the Panama-flagged product tanker El Gaia was being towed to an Omani port after a fire broke out in its engine room following an attack, reports Reuters.

The tanker was about 103 nautical miles northeast of Musandam when it was attacked, the centre said. An Omani naval vessel evacuated 23 crew members, while two remain missing.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed the tanker recently struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz while using what it calls an unauthorised route.

But US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected that account as false, part of Iranian attempts to prevent free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz through intimidation. Instead, El Gaia was struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable while it attempted to transit the Strait, CENTCOM says, and last weekend Iran struck the tanker again with a drone missile while the ship sat in waters off the coast of Oman.

One of the missing seafarers, and 13 of those rescued, are reported to be Indian nationals. The incident comes just a few days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the safety of Indian seafarers in the Middle East as an issue at the BRICs Summit in New Delhi last week, calling for the setting up of a Seafarers Emergency Support Network.

The Indian Embassy in Oman said it was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities in the ongoing search and rescue operation. It also thanked the Omani authorities for their support in rescuing the Indian nationals. 

India has repeated its call for immediate de-escalation of tensions and for dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace in the region, saying that targeting commercial shipping, seafarers, civilians and civilian infrastructure is unacceptable.