MUSCAT, 27 March 2004 — A Maltese-flagged oil tanker which had been adrift off Oman’s southeastern seaboard after a collision with a fishing vessel on Monday has now been brought under control, according to the head of the task force overseeing the rescue operation.
Sulaiman ibn Mohammed Al-Busaidi, the superintendent general of pollution control, said senior crew members who were dropped by helicopter on the stricken tanker are now preparing the vessel for its voyage to Salalah, the capital of southern province Dhofar, according to the state-run Oman Daily Observer.
All but one of the 25-member crew were rescued by passing ships. There has been no word yet of the missing man, believed to be a Filipino.
“At 16 hours Wednesday, the Task Force successfully landed an eight-member crew, including the captain, first officer, chief engineer and second chief engineer, on board the tanker,” he said. “It was a professional operation executed with the support of a helicopter from the Royal Air Force of Oman. The crew have started the generator and are in the process of restarting the ship’s engines.”
The 48,363 GRT Everton, traveling from the Iranian terminal of Kharg to the Egyptian Red Sea port of Ainsukna with a cargo of 80,000 tons of crude oil, caught fire after colliding with a fishing vessel off Ras Madrakah on Monday.
Al-Busaidi told the daily that a tug will help tow the Everton to Salalah, accompanied by Omani naval vessels.
A team of five specialists arrived in the Sultanate to support the rescue operation. They were flown on Wednesday by Oman Air to Masairah and from there transferred to the location of the Everton.
“This team of experts will provide all the assistance necessary in terms of salvage, fire-fighting and anti-pollution measures,” said the Task Force commander. “In addition, the Royal Navy of Oman will be standing by with its own personnel, equipment for fire-fighting and pollution control.”
