Third vessel with Indian sailors attacked by US Navy, three killed

New Delhi has lodged a strong protest with Washington after three merchant vessels carrying Indian crew members came under attack in West Asia within four days

Another merchant vessel with an Indian crew came under US Navy’s attack off the coast of Oman on Thursday, the third attack on a vessel with Indian sailors in the last four days. The government said all three incidents were a result of US Navy’s attacks, and that India has registered a “strong protest” with the United States. It also confirmed that three crew members of merchant vessel Settebello were killed in the US Navy’s attack on Wednesday. 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India will raise the issue of attacks on merchant vessels in West Asia at the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) in France. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the meeting to be held in Evian-les-Bains from June 15-17. Sources said the PM is likely to have a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the event. The two last met in Washington DC in February 2025.  

 

The Congress demanded the government should provide immediate assistance and adequate compensation to the families of the three sailors killed in the US Navy attack. It said the PM, who “has repeatedly showcased his personal rapport with President Trump as a diplomatic achievement”, “cannot evade responsibility when that relationship fails to protect Indian lives and interests.” The UAE-based company that operated MT Settebello said it has no affiliation with Iran or Iranian oil. 

Following the attack on MV Settebello, the MEA summoned US Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks and handed him a demarche or diplomatic note of protest on Wednesday evening. 

“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,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at an inter-ministerial media briefing. 

"We summoned the US Charge d’Affaires and he was conveyed our deepest concern over the ongoing incidents of attacks. We also registered our strong protest,” Jaiswal said. He emphasised that these attacks "must stop". Jaiswal said these attacks came from the US Navy stationed in the region — the first time in the last few days that the government publicly blamed the US for the attacks. 

“The three ships involved in these incidents were foreign-flagged vessels. Two of them were Palau-flagged (Marivex and Settebello) , while the third ship is Guinea-Bissau-flagged (Jalveer). They were not Indian-owned ships," the MEA spokesperson said. The attack on Jalveer, the third in two days, came a day after India lodged a protest with the US. Jaiswal said two of the three vessels were subject to sanctions administered by the US Treasury  Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), while another had been classified as non-compliant. 

The 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 the tanker Settebello, killing three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board. On June 11, Jalveer came under attack with all 20 Indians on board safely evacuated. The US Central Command (Centcom) has confirmed strikes on all three ships, saying it disabled Jalveer for allegedly violating the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil. It said a US aircraft struck the vessel’s engine room after the crew “repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces”. 

After the Philippines, India has the most seafarers in the world at 320,000. Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said evacuation of seafarers on Jalveer has commenced. 

From Settebello, all the remaining 25 crew members — 21 Indians, two Pakistanis, one Russian and one Ukrainian — have been safely evacuated, he said. The Seamen Welfare Fund Society has been asked to pay ₹10 lakh to the family of each of the deceased, he said. The seamen aboard Settebello who died in the US Navy attack were Aditya Sharma, a deck cadet, Shivanand Chaurashiya, an engine fitter, and Patnala Suresh, a chief engineer. Aditya’s father Rajesh Sharma told the media that the family was waiting for the authorities to return his son’s body. He said Aditya was to return home in May, but his duty was extended. He demanded an inquiry into the conduct of the tanker’s captain, who took the ship closer to the Strait of Hormuz. 

Officials said more than 18,000 Indian seafarers remained in the Gulf region, including 562 crew members aboard 13 Indian-flagged ships — 329 on vessels on the west of Strait of Hormuz and 233 on ships in the Gulf of Oman. 

The US military imposed a blockade on Iranian ports after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which around 20 per cent of global energy supplies are transported in peaceful times.