Sailors recovering after blast on UAE-bound oil tanker

Three sailors injured in an explosion on an Indian crude oil tanker off the coast of Oman on Tuesday were rescued by passing vessels, its shipping company said.

The Shipping Corporation of India said the MT Desh Vaibhav was en route to Fujairah when it was rocked by an on-board detonation in the Gulf of Oman.

One crew member suffered burns in the blast and was taken to hospital by helicopter. The Omani navy and other ships responded to the fire.

“Three sailors from this vessel were picked up from the sea by other vessels that were sailing past and now they are being treated here in Oman,” a Ministry of Health spokesman told The National.

The Omani navy and other ships responded to the fire, and the sailors were picked up by passing vessels

They were responding well to treatment, hospital sources said.

A statement from the shipping company said the fire had been “extinguished and the ship is fully manned and operational”.

The Omani coastguard official said that the vessel had already left Omani waters and he believed it had been docked in Fujairah since early yesterday morning.

The tanker started its journey in Sikka, India.

“As far as we are concerned, the vessel was seaworthy just hours after the explosion and set sail towards the UAE,” the coastguard said.

“The Omani navy helped with the fire.”

The identities of the sailors are unknown. A company spokesman declined to comment, as did the Indian embassy in Muscat.