Muscat: As part of its efforts to preserve and document the marine cultural heritage, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MHT) has completed the surveying and exploration work at the site of the sunken ship Kiva on the coasts of Mirbat in Dhofar Governorate.
For over a month, the divers photographed the remains of the Kiva shipwreck as the ministry sought to document the marine heritage of the region in general. This documentary work is one of the most important and first projects undertaken this year.
Historically, records show that the 'Kiva' ship sunk in the waters of Mirbat during its journey from Bombay (now Mumbai) in India to Mecca in Saudi Arabia with transporting 979 pilgrims ( 760 men, 169 women, and 22 children) on board,
The ship was exposed to a fire in its lower stores and the crew did not find the source of that fire.
The crew made serious efforts to control the fire, but it continued to spread all over the ship. The captain and his crew had to sail quickly to dock in the nearest safe spot and the closest place to cross to the coast of Mirbat, which was 140 miles away.
Residents of Mirbat arrived at the shore and passengers were shifted to the coast. Mirbat residents contributed greatly to the rescue of ship passengers as they landed safely before fire engulfed the ship that kept burning all night and sank 300 yards from the beach.
In the memoirs of the captain of the ship, he mentioned the role of the position of the governor of Mirbat who provided a ship with a local mule, transported the captain and some of his men to Muscat, and then communicated with the British Consul.
The consul communicated with Sultan Faisal bin Turki bin Said, who ordered the provision of a ship that had reached the port of Muscat and quickly sailed to Marbat to transport passengers.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
