New Delhi: India has renewed its call for unimpeded maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains under a double blockade by Iran and the US Navy, after a third merchant vessel with Indian sailors aboard was attacked within a week on Thursday. The External Affairs Ministry spokesman, Randhir Jaiswal, said on Thursday that free and secure cargo movement through the war-affected region was essential.
“We have stated our position in the Strait of Hormuz … we have urged that there be unimpeded and safe navigation … keeping with international law,” Jaiswal said at a briefing on the Europe trip of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, held after the US forces struck MT Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged oil tanker carrying 20 Indian seafarers.
The US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed it hit MT Jalveer for allegedly carrying Iranian oil and ignoring repeated naval warnings, saying an aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew failed to comply. The strike occurred around 9.20am Gulf time on Thursday.
Jaiswal said India was “deeply concerned” and hoped the attacks would end, confirming all three incidents involved US Navy strikes on foreign-flagged vessels. He noted two of the ships were OFAC-sanctioned and one was classified as non-compliant.
Centcom said its blockade, in force since April 13, targets vessels carrying Iranian cargo to or from Iranian ports as part of pressure on Tehran to accept a US-proposed peace plan and reopen the strait. It said it has disabled nine non-compliant vessels, redirected 135 compliant ones, and allowed 42 humanitarian vessels through since the blockade began, adding that it applies regardless of crew nationality or vessel flag.
Third attack on Indian-crewed vessel
MT Jalveer was the third tanker attacked this week, after the Palau-flagged MT Marivex and MT Settebello were attacked and damaged by the US Navy in the same region. Three Indian sailors died in the MT Settebello strike off Oman. Of the 24 Indian crew aboard, Oman rescued 21; the three initially listed as missing – chief engineer Patnala Suresh, engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasiya, and deck cadet Aditya Sharma – were later confirmed dead. The government is arranging repatriation of survivors and the bodies.
MT Jalveer was struck near the Omani port of Shinas, hitting the engine room and funnel area. Indian authorities said all crew were safe, with evacuation coordinated through Omani authorities and monitored via the Muscat embassy. New Delhi summoned a US diplomat on Tuesday to protest the MT Settebello attack and urged an end to actions endangering civilian seafarers, calling for diplomacy and de-escalation. All crew aboard MT Marivex, struck earlier, were rescued unharmed.
The incidents have drawn international attention given India’s large maritime workforce aboard global merchant vessels, and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to global energy and trade.
Agencies on alert
The government has directed all agencies – the MEA, defence and shipping ministries, Navy, shipping companies, and maritime administrators of friendly nations – to remain on heightened alert and ready to respond to any contingency involving Indian seafarers, maintaining continuous surveillance of the Hormuz and Oman Gulf areas.
The directorate general of shipping issued an advisory urging Indian seafarers on Indian and foreign-flagged vessels to exercise the “highest degree” of caution and vigilance, and asked operators to follow security protocols and monitor official advisories.
The ports, shipping and waterways minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said the government remained “fully committed to the safety, security, and welfare of every Indian seafarer,” calling the MT Settebello deaths “deeply unfortunate”, and reiterated that protecting Indian lives and maritime interests, and ensuring uninterrupted legitimate cargo movement, remained top priorities.
Navy retrieves unexploded missile
In a separate high-risk operation, the Indian Navy recovered an unexploded missile from MT Olympic Life, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with no Indian crew, after it reported an explosion in its hull while sailing off Oman on May 26 en route to Kochi. The Gurugram-based Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) relayed the distress call to the Kochi-based southern naval command, which dispatched an explosive ordnance disposal team.
The Navy said its inspection found the missile had bored through the hull and multiple compartments before lodging in the fuel tank. The Navy’s explosive ordnance-disposal team isolated the warhead and detonation mechanism, removed the ordnance and debris, and transferred it for examination and secure storage.
Iran condemns US strikes
In Tehran, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, condemned the strikes on vessels carrying Indian seafarers, calling them “armed robbery and state piracy” in a post on X. He offered condolences to the families of the deceased sailors and to India.
He further said the international community must hold the US accountable for conduct that “continues to threaten global peace and security while endangering the freedom of navigation.”