(COLOMBO) – A 21-member all Sri Lankan crew that was plucked out from a sinking oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman by an Iranian rescue vessel on Wednesday are in good health and they would be transferred to their employer at the earliest, the International Transport workers Federation (ITF) said on Thursday.
The Cook Islands-flagged vessel carrying oil went down in choppy seas about 50 kilometres (30 miles) off the southern city of Jask, ITF Colombo Representative Ranjan Perera quoted foreign media as saying.
“The crew are safe and in good health although there is some anxiety among them”, Perera said.
He said that vessels operating in that region were small in size and are used mainly to transport oil to West Asian ports and they were not equipped for long-distance voyages.
He added said apart from that many vessels operating in that region lacked basic safety navigation equipment thereby exposing the crew to many dangers.
Mohammad Amin Amani, director of Jask Ports and Maritime Administration, was quoted in the media as saying that five people needed medical attention and were treated by Jask emergency services.
Torrential rains have battered the Strait of Hormuz, Oman and the United Arab Emirates since Monday, and floods killed at least 18 people in Oman and another in the UAE.
