'Please send help': Ship's distress call after being hit by US missile

The Indian crew of a sanctioned oil tanker urged authorities to "send help" after the ship was hit by a US missile off Oman on Monday, saying it was on fire and sinking in a distress call shared with BBC Verify.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the ship, Marivex, had violated its blockade of Iranian ports and a "precision munition" was fired into the ship after the crew failed to comply with US instructions.

All 24 crew were rescued by the Omani military, Indian authorities said.

Marivex is the seventh ship disabled by the US for violating the blockade, Centcom added.

The US military has been blockading Iran's ports after Tehran effectively closed the busy Strait of Hormuz through which some 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies are transported.

Opesh Kumar Sharma of India's ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said that a fire first broke out on the tanker - which was not loaded with oil - at about 13:30 India time (08:00 GMT), but did not comment on the cause of the fire.

Centcom later confirmed that an F-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln "fired a precision munition into the ship's engineering and steering spaces".

Images shared with BBC Verify by a crew member show a ship with features matching a US San Antonio-class warship sailing past Marivex after the strike.

With the ship's engine disabled and a fire breaking out on board, the crew began to send out distress calls.

"Sir, this is motor tanker Miravex ... we have a fire on board and vessel is sinking," said a crew member in a distress call given to BBC Verify by the Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI).

"US Navy attack, the missile on our engine room. We have hole at the bottom ... 24 crew. All crew Indian. 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 (08:45 GMT). 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 09:13 GMT 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 09:55 GMT 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.