India on Thursday confirmed that three merchant vessels carrying Indian crew members were attacked by the US Navy off the coast of Oman over the past four days, resulting in the death of three Indian nationals. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly taken up the matter with the United States.
First public acknowledgment
This marks the first public acknowledgment of US Navy targeting ships with Indian crew. The MEA summoned US Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks and handed him a demarche, a diplomatic note of protest.
“We attach high importance to the welfare and well-being of our seafaring community. When this particular attack on the ship MT Settebello occurred, we lodged a strong protest with the American side,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at an inter-ministerial media briefing.
Details of the attacks
A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued. On June 10, US struck another Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, killing three of the 24 Indian sailors on board.
Jaiswal emphasized that these attacks “must stop.” He added, “We further conveyed that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and that there should be unimpeded access through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law.”
Position made clear
“Therefore, we made our position very clear on each of these points, while reiterating how important the lives of our people are, welfare and safety of our people are,” Jaiswal said.
He noted that the attacks came from the US Navy stationed in the region. “The three ships that have been involved in these incidents were foreign-flagged vessels. Two of them were Palau-flagged, while the third ship is Guinea-Bissau-flagged. They were not Indian-owned ships,” he said.
US Central Command confirmations
US Central Command (Centcom) has confirmed strikes on Settebello and Marivex but is yet to comment on reported strikes on Jalveer.
Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, said evacuation of the seafarers on Jalveer has commenced. From Settebello, all the remaining 25 crew members including 21 Indians, two Pakistani, one Russian and one Ukrainian have been safely evacuated. The Seamen Welfare Fund Society has been asked to pay Rs 10 lakh to the family of each deceased.
Indian seafarers in the Gulf
Mangal said more than 18,000 Indian seafarers remain in the Gulf region, including 562 crew members aboard 13 Indian-flagged ships — 329 on vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz and 233 on vessels in the Gulf of Oman.
Jaiswal added that two of the three vessels were subject to sanctions administered by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, while another had been classified as non-compliant.
