HUAL ASIA, a Pure Car/Truck Carrier owned by Leif Höegh & Co Shipping, picked up 24 crew from an abandoned tanker on fire in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman. The 24 crew are reported to be in good condition. One crew is reported missing.
HUAL ASIA was en route from Jeddah to Dubai when it received a distress call on the VHF radio channel 16. HUAL ASIA changed course and proceeded to the distressed vessel, which was on fire. 24 crew were picked up and search continues for one missing crew. 8 of the crew were later transferred to a US navy vessel, which has taken over the on scene command from HUAL ASIA.
HUAL ASIA is a modern Roll-on/Roll-off vessel of the Pure Car/Truck Carrier type with capacity of carrying about 6100 cars. The vessel was built in 2000 and has a crew of 25. The vessel is owned by Leif Höegh & Co Shipping and is commercially operated by HUAL (a subsidiary of Leif Höegh & Co). HUAL is one of the largest car carrier operators in the world.