All 16 crew members of SCI Ratna safe

New Delhi: The entire crew of 16 people on- board the 'SCI Ratna' offshore supply vessel, which sank off the Mumbai coast yesterday, is safe and investigations are underway, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) said on Wednesday.

SCI-Ratna sank 96 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai last evening, it said.

"All the 16 shipboard personnel who were on board the vessel have been rescued and are safe," SCI said in a BSE filing on Wednesday.

"The probable reason of sinking of vessel is ingress of water in the engine room. The actual cause is yet to be ascertained and is being investigated," it added.

Director General of Shipping, Malini Shankar said yesterday that the crew have been rescued.

SCI chairman Anoop Sharma has said all the crew members were immediately rescued by another vessel operating in the vicinity.

He said the SCI Ratna was contracted with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to support its oil exploration operations at the Bombay High.

As per trade websites, the 2,039-tonne ship was built in 2011 and was 64 metres long.