India, June 8 -- A fire was reported on board an oil tanker carrying 24 Indian seafarers in the Persian Gulf on Monday, but all crew members are safe, the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways (MoPSW) said.

Speaking to reporters, Opesh Kumar Sharma, director in the shipping division of MoPSW, said all Indian vessels and crew operating in the Persian Gulf were under close watch.

Providing details of the incident, Sharma said, "There has been a recent report that today, around 1:30 pm, there has been a fire reported on a vessel, MT Marivex, in which there were 24 Indian seafarers."

The ministry said it was closely monitoring the situation amid recent developments in West Asia and was coordinating with multiple government agencies to ...