India Protests US Strikes on Commercial Vessels in Gulf After Seafarers' Deaths

India's Strong Response to US Naval Actions

On Saturday, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar communicated with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to express India's strong disapproval regarding recent US military strikes on commercial vessels in the Gulf, which resulted in the deaths of three Indian seafarers near Oman.

Jaishankar emphasized in a social media update, "I reiterated India’s strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified."

This discussion followed the Ministry of External Affairs summoning Jason Meeks, the US Chargé d’Affaires, for the second consecutive day to formally register India's protest against ongoing US strikes affecting ships with Indian crew members in the region.

Meeks had previously been summoned on Thursday to address a strike on a commercial tanker off Oman that resulted in the deaths of three Indian nationals.

From the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello, twenty-one crew members were successfully rescued.

On Thursday, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the external affairs ministry, conveyed to Meeks India's serious concerns regarding the repeated attacks and lodged a strong protest regarding the incidents.

Jaiswal stated during a government press briefing about the conflict in West Asia, "These attacks came from the US Navy stationed there."

The US Central Command confirmed its involvement in striking the Settebello, alleging that the vessel breached an American blockade aimed at restricting maritime traffic associated with Iran, as it was reportedly attempting to transport oil from there.

Shortly after Meeks was summoned on Thursday, the US military announced that it had "disabled" another tanker off Oman for allegedly trying to transport oil from Iran.

Social media footage depicted smoke rising from the Guinea-Bissau-flagged bitumen tanker MT Jalveer, which was situated near the port of Shinas in northern Oman. Twenty Indian seafarers aboard the vessel were evacuated safely.

Earlier in the week, another tanker named Marivex, carrying 24 Indian crew members, was targeted by US forces for purportedly violating the blockade, but all crew members were rescued.

India clarified on Thursday that all three vessels struck by US military actions from Monday to Thursday were foreign-flagged. Two of these ships are under sanctions from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, while one is categorized as a non-compliant vessel, according to Jaiswal.