New Delhi: Three tankers, three strikes in three days, with three dead and 65 Indian seafarers requiring rescue off the coast of Oman. The three attacks have raised concerns in New Delhi over the safety of Indian seafarers on the “shadow fleet”, or ships that operate in grey areas.
The attacks have all followed a similar pattern—warnings from the US Navy followed by launch of precision strikes at the engine room to disable ships that show an inclination to take a run at the US blockade of Iranian ports.The US strikes against oil tankers off the coast of Oman have hit the Indian seafarer community hard, with three of their own killed in the 10 June attack on MT Settebello. The Indian government has strongly “condemned” the strikes against commercial vessels, while also summoning the US Charge D’Affaires Jason Meeks Wednesday to lodge a strong protest over the action against the Palau-flagged ship.
“At least one of the ships attempted to break the US naval blockade by going dark—turning off its transponders—noting the effort by the captain to sail willingly into an Iranian port despite military warnings,” a person familiar with the matter told ThePrint.None of the three ships was India-flagged. Two were Palau-flagged, while one flew under the flag of Guinea-Bissau. India-flagged ships have not come under US military strikes. Around 13 remain stranded at the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on 28 February this year.Two of the attacked ships are considered to be part of the “shadow fleet” of Iran—ferrying US-sanctioned Iranian oil—and the US action has raised concerns within the Indian government. In the last decade, Indian seafarers have grown from around 100,000 to 350,000, according to Indian government statistics, which accounts for around 12% of the global workforce.“A number of Indian seafarers have since been recruited to crew the shadow fleet vessels either knowingly—accepting higher pay despite the risks—or unknowingly through unscrupulous agents as the demand for crew members remains,” the person said.The US imposed a naval blockade on Iran on 13 April, as Washington and Tehran continue to negotiate an end to the war.
