All crew on board the unnamed wooden vessel – there are conflicting reports of 10 or 11 men - were rescued by Omani fishermen 15nm off Jalan Bani Bu Ali province as it headed for Yemen’s Al Mukalla port.
The vessel is said to have sunk due to a “technical” issue with several media outlets, including the Oman Tribune and Dubai’s Gulf News, saying officials suspect overloading.
More than 20 vehicles can be seen in the image above which appeared on omantribune.com today. The vessel was also said to be carrying food stuffs, engine oils and tyres to Yemen.
Details remain sketchy including any remaining danger to shipping in the vicinity or any pollution issues although Gulf News reported that the “Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs sent a team to clean up the debris and to save the turtles.”
The incident follows the rescue of 17 Indian sailors by Omani fishermen and Oman Coastguard last month after their traditional dhow sunk off Masirah island, transporting livestock from India to the UAE.
Gulf News also reports that a vessel reportedly carrying of 800 tonnes of plastic items was sunk off Masirah Island on July 22 “with thousands of plastic items washing ashore near the beach where turtles were nesting in the island.”
