‘Please send help’: Indian crew’s distress call after ship hit by US missile

The Indian crew of a sanctioned oil tanker urged authorities to “please help” after the ship was hit by a US missile off Oman on Monday, saying it was on fire and sinking in a distress call shared with BBC Verify.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the ship, Marivex, had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and a “precision munition” was fired into the ship after the crew failed to comply with US instructions.

All 24 crew were rescued by the Omani military, Indian authorities said.

Marivex is the seventh ship disabled by the US for violating the blockade, Centcom added.

The US military has been blockading Iran’s ports after Tehran effectively closed the busy Strait of Hormuz through which some 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies are transported.

Opesh Kumar Sharma of India’s ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said that a fire first broke out on the tanker – which was not loaded with oil – at about 13:30 India time (08:00 GMT), but did not comment on the cause of the fire.

Centcom later confirmed that an F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln “fired a precision munition into the ship’s engineering and steering spaces”.

Images shared with BBC Verify by a crew member show a ship with features matching a US San Antonio-class warship sailing past Marivex after the strike.

With the ship’s engine disabled and a fire breaking out on board, the crew began to send out distress calls.