Shipping Corporation's crude tanker suffers explosion; three missing, one injured

Three sailors went missing and a fourth sailor suffered burn injuries after a section of Shipping Corporation of India’s (SCI) tanker vessel – M T Desh Vaibhav exploded on Tuesday morning while sailing in Gulf of Oman.

The crude oil tanker was on its way to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

As per the statement issued by Shipping Corporation, M T Desh Vaibhav reportedly suffered an explosion in one of its cargo tanks at around 9.35 am on Tuesday morning, off the Oman coast or Gulf of Oman.

Though fire fighting is underway, three personnel are reported missing and one other person has suffered burn injuries. The sailor with burns has been evacuated by helicopter.

“Assistance has been sought from the Oman Royal Navy and other ships in the vicinity. As per latest status, the fire has subsided and a fire fighting vessel is expected to reach the vessel shortly to cool down the tanks,” read SCI’s statement. 

This incident comes after SCI’s offshore supply vessel SCI Ratna sunk 100 around 100 nautical miles off Mumbai’s coast on November 21 last year. There were 16 crew members on board, who were rescued in time.