New Delhi: The MT Marivex, a Palau-flagged oil tanker crewed by 24 Indians, was hit by an American missile strike on Monday in the Gulf of Oman. All 24 crew members have been rescued from the oil tanker by the government of Oman.
The Marivex was designated by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under its Iran sanctions programme last December. Owned by Arihant Shipping, the vessel is “known to have operated using false-flag registrations”, to evade American sanctions and export Iranian oil, sources said.US Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement said that it “disabled” the Marivex as “it transited international waters in the Gulf of Oman toward Iran”. The ship was hit by a “precision munition,” launched by an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to the CENTCOM statement.
The ship was warned by the US forces before being hit by the precision munition. Despite multiple warnings, the crew failed to comply with the directions issued by the US military, leading to the strike.“CENTCOM forces have disabled seven non-compliant vessels, redirected 134 ships that complied, and allowed 42 vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass since initiating the blockade on April 13,” Monday’s statement said.The Marivex purportedly sent distress messages to a Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) office-bearer sometime on Monday afternoon, stating that there is a “hole in the bottom” of the ship after it was fired upon by the US Navy.In a statement on Tuesday, the Indian Coast Guard said that once the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Mumbai was informed of the attack, it coordinated with Oman Maritime Search and Rescue Centre in “ensuring the safe rescue” of the crew members by Oman Navy helicopters.
