UAE-flagged Ship with 30 Crew Members Sinks off Iran Coast

By Staff, Agencies

An Emirati-flagged cargo ship sank Thursday off Iran in the Arabian Gulf in poor weather, authorities said, with rescuers attempting to account for all of its 30 crew members.

Capt. Nizar Qaddoura, the operations manager of the Salem Al Makrani Cargo company, told The Associated Press that the Al Salmy 6 encountered rough and stormy weather, then capsized.

Rescuers had saved 16 crew members, the captain said. Another 11 had made it onto a life raft, while one person was saved by a nearby tanker. Two crew members were still in the water, he said.

The crew consisted of nationals from Sudan, India, Pakistan, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia, Qaddoura said. The vessel had been on its way to Umm Qasr, Iraq, carrying cars and other cargo, he said.