One crew member died following the sinking of a tanker in the Arabian Sea south of Oman, Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) informed.
The 6,800 dwt Rama 2 issued a mayday call in the morning hours of June 26, reporting a heavy list to starboard, according to CMF.
Naval ships, a helicopter and a maritime patrol aircraft were deployed as part of the search and rescue operation some 120 nautical miles off Yemen’s Socotra Island.
In addition, three merchant vessels which were in the vicinity joined the search.
As weather conditions were harsh, with waves being more than five meters high, none of the fourteen crew members of Rama 2 were able to reach life rafts.
Twelve of the fourteen crew members of Rama 2 were recovered by Tortola and Sea Power, the merchant vessels, with two sailors still missing at that point.
Subsequently, the helicopter spotted one man in the water, showing no signs of life.
The remaining survivor was located by Soyo, the third merchant ship, and later recovered.
All crew were reunited on board MTM Tortola and recovered to Salalah in Oman, CMF added.
The Rama 2 was en route to Al Hamriya, UAE with 5,500 tons of gasoline when it went down. Local reports pointed to a large oil slick at the site, but the heavy seas were reportedly dispersing the pollution.