NEW DELHI: The death toll among Indian seafarers due to US and Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz has risen to eight after another was killed when Iran’s missile struck a tanker on Tuesday.
Two oil tankers operated by a subsidiary of the UAE oil company ADNOC, MT Mombasa and MT Al-Bahiyah, were hit by Iranian cruise missiles while transiting the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The attack resulted in the death of one Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa tanker and the injury of eight others, including four who sustained serious injuries. The injured comprise six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals,” the UAE Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Ten civilian ships staffed by Indian seafarers — MT Settebello, MT Celestial, MT Marivex, MT Jalveer, Galaxy, Sky Light, Safe Sea, MT Safesea Vishnu, MT Mombasa, and MT Al-Bahiyah — have been targeted by American and Iranian forces since March, according to the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, a labor union representing sailors working aboard commercial vessels.
The first attack took place on March 1, at the beginning of the US-Israeli war on Iran, when the Sky Light oil tanker was hit while anchored about 5 nautical miles north of the Omani coastline.
