India summons US envoy again over attacks on ships with crew

India on Friday summoned US Charg d'Affaires Jason Meeks for the second time this week after another merchant vessel carrying 20 Indian crew members came under attack off the coast of Oman, marking the third such incident involving Indian sailors in just four days. Additional secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu registered a strong protest over the US attacks that continued. The ministry again conveyed its deep concern over the “use of lethal and deadly force” against civilian shipping. “Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the statement said.
The latest summons came hours after the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) issued a fresh maritime security advisory for nearly 18,000 Indian seafarers operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and adjoining waters, following a series of attacks on merchant vessels.
The US Central Command has said it took action to disable three vessels this week – MT Marivex on June 8, MT Settebello on June 9 and MT Jalveer on June 11 – because they were trying to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. A US combat aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into Jalveer’s engine room to disable it. None of three vessels were Indian-flagged – Marivex and Settebello were Palau-flagged while Jalveer was Guinea-Bissau-flagged – but all had Indian crew members. Omani armed forces rescued more than 60 Indian crew members from the three vessels, including 24 from Marivex, 21 from Settebello, and 20 from Jalveer.
According to official estimates, 622 Indian seafarers aboard 13 India-flagged vessels are currently operating in waters to the west and east of the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly 18,000 Indian nationals are employed on hundreds of foreign-flagged merchant ships across the wider Gulf region, making India one of the countries most exposed to the deteriorating maritime security situation. India has the world's second-largest seafaring workforce, with around 3.2 lakh Indian seafarers serving on vessels globally.