NEW DELHI: The Indian Embassy in Oman on Sunday said it has learnt of an incident involving the Indian-flagged mechanised sailing vessel Virat 1 off the coast of Oman and that search and rescue operations are currently under way in coordination with Omani authorities.In a post on X, the embassy said the vessel was reportedly carrying 14 Indian crew members at the time of the incident.“The Mission has learnt of an incident involving an Indian Flagged Mechanised Sailing Vessel Virat 1, off the coast of Oman, reportedly embarked with 14 Indian crew. Search and Rescue is being coordinated with the Omani authorities and vessels in vicinity of the incident,” the embassy said.The mission did not immediately provide details on the nature of the incident, the condition of the crew, or the vessel’s last known location.

Search and rescue efforts under way

According to the embassy, search and rescue operations are being coordinated with Omani authorities as well as vessels operating near the site of the reported incident.Officials have not yet disclosed whether contact has been established with the crew or if any rescue operations have yielded results.Further updates are expected as the search operation progresses.

Incident comes amid concerns over Indian seafarers in region

The development comes at a time when the safety of Indian seafarers in the Middle East has drawn increased attention.An Indian national recently died from medical complications aboard the vessel MT Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port in Oman. The Indian Embassy in Muscat had said necessary arrangements were being made for the early repatriation of the mortal remains to India.Earlier, three Indian seafarers were killed in a US strike on a tanker off Oman, prompting diplomatic concerns from New Delhi.India’s foreign ministry later summoned the US chargé d’affaires and conveyed its “deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping”.India has more than 300,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets, with over 18,000 employed in the Middle East, according to government data cited by news agency ANI.