Indian ship sunk near UAE coast

India said on May 14 that an Indian-flagged cargo vessel sank off the coast of Oman after what officials described as an attack in Omani waters. The vessel, Haji Ali, was sailing from Somalia to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates when it caught fire and later went down, according to Indian officials. All 14 crew members were rescued by the Omani Coast Guard, India said. The incident came as security risks for commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz remained elevated after other attacks and seizures in the region. ### Which ship sank, and where was it headed? Haji Ali was a mechanized wooden sailing vessel, or dhow, operating under the Indian flag, Indian shipping ministry official Mukesh Mangal said. He said the vessel was on a voyage from Somalia to Sharjah in the UAE when it was attacked in Omani waters. (usnews.com) May 14 statements from Indian officials identified the vessel by name and said it had been sailing near the Omani coast before it sank. Ship-tracking data cited by Reuters showed the vessel last reported its position off Muscat on May 11. ### What do officials say happened on board? (bloomberg.com) India's Ministry of External Affairs said on May 14 that the vessel had come under attack off the coast of Oman and that the incident was unacceptable. The ministry did not publicly identify who carried out the attack. (usnews.com) Reports carried by Reuters and other outlets said the vessel was struck by an explosive object or by what officials suspected could have been a drone or missile, triggering a fire before the sinking. Those accounts were based on statements from Indian officials and maritime reporting, but no public attribution for the strike had been issued by India in the material reviewed. (thehindu.com) ### How many crew members were aboard? All 14 Indian crew members were rescued, according to Indian officials and multiple reports citing Omani authorities. Mukesh Mangal told reporters that the Omani Coast Guard carried out the rescue after the vessel was set ablaze and sank. The Indian foreign ministry said all crew members were safe and thanked Omani authorities for their assistance. (usnews.com) The ministry's spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said India deplored the continued targeting of commercial shipping and civilian mariners. (bloomberg.com) ### Why has the incident drawn attention beyond India and Oman? The UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called a terrorist attack on an Indian-flagged ship off the coast of Oman. In a statement carried by the state news agency WAM, the ministry said the attack threatened the security of international navigation. The sinking also came on the same day that a separate vessel was reported seized off the UAE coast, according to the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations and reporting by the Associated Press. (theweek.in) That sequence added to concern around shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for global energy and cargo traffic. (wam.ae) ### What is known about the cargo? Some reports identified Haji Ali as a livestock carrier on a voyage from Berbera in Somalia to Sharjah. Bloomberg reported that Indian officials described it as a small cargo ship, while maritime trade reports said it was carrying livestock, including sheep and goats. (apnews.com) Publicly available official statements reviewed for this report did not provide a full cargo manifest. Because the vessel was a dhow engaged in regional trade, more details on cargo and ownership may emerge from maritime or consular inquiries. That is an inference based on the limited official information available so far. ### What happens next? (bloomberg.com) May 15 is likely to bring further statements from Indian and Omani authorities as they establish the cause of the attack and document the loss of the vessel. India's shipping and foreign ministries have already publicly acknowledged the incident, and Oman's role in the rescue places its authorities at the center of the next factual updates. (safety4sea.com) The next concrete milestones are any formal incident notices from maritime security agencies, any consular update on the 14 rescued crew members, and any official attribution for the strike. As of the latest reports reviewed, India had condemned the attack but had not publicly named a perpetrator. (usnews.com) (bloomberg.com)