"Standing on its head"

Oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman – crew missing

An oil tanker capsized off the coast of Oman on Monday. The 16-member crew is missing, according to the Omani Center for Maritime Safety. According to the statement, 13 of the crew members are from India. The search for them is ongoing, it said.

The 117-meter-long ship capsized around 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) southeast of Ras Madrkah, a town in Oman, the Oman Maritime Security Centre reported on X (formerly Twitter, see post below). The tanker is "submerged" and "upside down", the authority reported to the Reuters news agency.

According to the Marine Traffic website, the tanker was on its way to the port city of Aden in Yemen. It remained unclear whether the accident caused an oil leak. The tanker "Prestige Falcon" was built in 2007 and flies the flag of the Comoros.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October, the Houthi militia has repeatedly attacked freighters with an alleged Israeli connection in the region. Large shipping companies are increasingly avoiding the route via the nearby Red Sea, which normally accounts for around ten percent of global trade.