A United Arab Emirates ship has sunk off the coast of Iran with 30 crew members aboard, authorities have said.

       The cargo ship Al Salmy 6 capsized during rough and stormy weather in the Gulf, according to Captain Nizar Qaddoura, operations manager of the Salem Al Makrani Cargo company.

       Captain Qaddoura said rescuers saved 16 crew members and another 11 made it onto a life raft, while one person was saved by a nearby tanker. Two crew members were still in the water, he added.

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

       The ship was 30 miles away from Iran’s Assaluyeh port in the Gulf when it sank, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.

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       Maritime authorities blamed bad weather in the Gulf for the ship’s sinking, the agency said.

       The Gulf remains a major waterway for trade, ranging from cargo ships and energy shipments from the oil-rich Gulf Arab states.

       It is very rare for a vessel to sink in the Gulf. However, dust storms among other poor weather fronts have swept across the region as the seasons change from relatively cold winter months to the scorching days of summer.

       Severe weather swept the Gulf from Wednesday, the Iran Meteorological Organisation reported, warning of powerful wind gusts that would disrupt maritime activities in the gulf and and damage offshore facilities through Saturday.

       Wind speeds were expected to exceed 40 mph in Iran’s Bushehr province.

       Additional reporting by Associated Press