Please help quickly, we need immediate help," the distress call said.The FSUI told BBC Verify distress calls were received at 14:15 India time ( ). The union then posted on the social media platform X a video taken by the crew and said the ship's location was 28km (17 miles) off the coast of Oman.The All India Seafarers Union said it also received distress communication from a crew member of the tanker shortly after the fire broke out.India's Embassy in Oman replied to the FSUI post on X at to find out more about the incident.Flight tracking data shows a Royal Air Force of Oman helicopter took off from an air base on Masirah Island at about and appeared to reached Marivex's location just over 20 minutes later.Verified videos show the crew being lifted off the tanker into a helicopter. The helicopter in the footage matches one seen in a photograph later shared by the FSUI showing the crew on Oman's Masirah Island after the rescue.Centcom did not answer BBC Verify's question about whether they had contacted the Omani or Indian authorities before the strike.Miravex was sanctioned by the US for links with Iran under a previous name - Arihant.
The US has also sanctioned the ship's owner, Arihant Shipping Inc, and has accused the ship of transporting "hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian fuel oil and bitumen within the Gulf since July 2025"Ship-tracking data shows Marivex last stopped at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in early April where it loaded with cargo and then sailed to two cities on India's west coast - Mangaluru and Karwar, according to MarineTraffic data.The ship then crossed back across the Arabian Sea and has spent most of May and early June sailing up and down the coast of Oman where it has been captured multiple times in satellite images.Centcom said Marivex was unladen and had "violated the ongoing blockade against Iran by attempting to sail to an Iranian port".FSUIAn image shared by the FSUI shows the crew on Oman's Masirah Island after the rescue operationIndiaIranMiddle EastOmanShipping industryUnited StatesAsia
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