U.S. Navy rescues 14 Indian nationals off Oman

Fourteen Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking dhow off the coast of Oman on Sunday, June 14, in an emergency operation coordinated by the United States Navy with assistance from the Indian Navy and a merchant vessel. The incident occurred approximately 80 nautical miles east of Ras Al Hadd.

According to officials, the U.S. Navy was alerted that the dhow was in distress on Sunday morning. A U.S. Navy P8 maritime patrol aircraft responded, dropping a life raft near the vessel and monitoring as the crew abandoned their ship. The aircraft then coordinated with the nearby merchant vessel MV Jabal Ali 9, a St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged ship traveling from Sohar to Mumbai, to proceed to the scene and render assistance. All 14 individuals aboard the dhow were confirmed to be Indian nationals. Their condition was not immediately known as rescue operations were ongoing.

The cause of the vessel's sinking remains unclear. The area off Oman's eastern coast has seen heightened maritime tensions and disruptions linked to the wider Middle East conflict, particularly around the nearby Strait of Hormuz, a critical global chokepoint for oil shipments. Recent reports indicate that vessel...