All 23 seafarers evacuated from Liberia-flagged Stolt Magnesium after incident 40 nautical miles northeast of Qalhat An explosion involving an unidentified external device has damaged Stolt Tankers’ 27,500-dwt chemical tanker Stolt Magnesium off Oman, sparking an engine-room fire and prompting the evacuation of all 23 seafarers.
Stolt-Nielsen said the crew were safe and accounted for, with no injuries reported. Their families and the relevant authorities had been contacted, while Stolt Tankers was working with authorities and technical experts to secure the vessel and its cargo.
UK Maritime Trade Operations issued a warning at 2104 UTC on 13 July after the master of a tanker reported that an unknown projectile had struck the starboard side of the engine room, 40 nautical miles northeast of Qalhat. UKMTO said the crew were safe and that no environmental impact had been reported. Authorities were continuing to investigate the incident.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre identified the vessel as the Liberia-flagged Stolt Magnesium. It said the ship was about 40 nautical miles off South Al Sharqiyah Governorate and outside Omani territorial waters when the explosion and fire occurred.
The Omani authority said all 23 crew members had been evacuated and were in good health.
Stolt Tankers operates 167 deepsea and regional chemical tankers with a combined capacity of 3.2m dwt. Its fleet transports more than 26m tonnes of chemicals and other bulk liquids annually.