Courtesy: Pxhere under Public Domain license

Three people are reported missing after an explosion ripped through the crude oil tanker M.T. Desh Vaibhav, owned by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).

The company said that based on the preliminary information the tanker “reportedly suffered an explosion in one of its cargo tanks” early this morning while underway offshore Oman.

“Another person with burns is being evacuated by helicopter. Assistance has been sought from the Oman Royal Navy and other ships in the vicinity.

“As per latest status, the fire has subsided and a fire fighting vessel is expected to reach the vessel shortly to cool down the tanks,” SCI said in a statement.

The cause of the explosion is yet to be determined.

Based on the vessel’s latest AIS data from Marine Traffic, the ship is not under command and it is situated in the Gulf of Oman. The VLCC was underway from Sikka, India to Fujairah, UAE when the blast occurred.

The 2005-built VLCC is one of four very large crude tankers in SCI’s fleet, based on the company’s website data.

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