Thirteen Indian crew members were rescued as New Delhi condemned the attack on the MT El Gaia
A Panama-flagged oil tanker came under attack off the coast of Oman on Sunday, leaving one Indian and one Pakistani sailor missing.
The 23 other crew members aboard the ship, 13 Indians and ten Pakistanis, were rescued. Search-and-rescue operations for the missing sailors are continuing.
New Delhi condemned the attack on the MT El Gaia, calling the targeting of commercial shipping and seafarers “unacceptable.” The Indian Embassy in Oman is monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities, the Indian foreign ministry said.
At least 10 Indian seafarers have died in attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz amid the war in the Middle East triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran earlier this year.
India also called for immediate de-escalation and a return to dialogue and diplomacy, and urged that safe navigation and commercial traffic through international waterways in the region be restored as soon as possible.
It was not immediately clear who attacked the El Gaia. Iranian state media blamed a “terrorist enemy” for an attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz late on Saturday, which reportedly left one person dead. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, or UKMTO, which tracks commercial shipping, said another vessel was hit by a projectile in the strait late on Saturday.
It was not clear which ship the Iranian media was referring to. The US, which is blockading Iranian ports, has not commented on the attack.
The incident came days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised maritime security in his talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New Delhi. Modi stressed the need to safeguard freedom of navigation and commerce and ensure the safety of seafarers.
Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum the same day, Modi said global trade could move forward only “if sea lanes are secure, supply routes remain open, and seafarers are safe.”
Many of the world’s sailors are from India; around 312,000 Indian nationals work on ships globally. Their large presence in international shipping leaves them particularly exposed when commercial vessels are targeted. New Delhi’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways had earlier issued advisories to those working on ships transiting conflict zones in the Middle East and the Black Sea.
