NEW DELHI: India’s maritime regulator has barred ship owners, managers and recruitment agencies from sending Indian nationals to work on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz following a rise in deadly attacks by US and Iranian forces.
Ten civilian ships staffed by Indian seafarers — MT Settebello, MT Celestial, MT Marivex, MT Jalveer, GFS Galaxy, Sky Light, Safe Sea, MT Safesea Vishnu, MT Mombasa and MT Al-Bahiyah — have been targeted by US and Iranian forces since the beginning of the US-Israeli war on Iran on Feb. 28.
The first attack took place on March 1, when the Sky Light oil tanker was hit while anchored about five nautical miles north of the Omani coastline.
It has not been conclusively established whether the ship was hit by Iranian or US forces, but two Indian sailors, including the ship’s captain, were killed. Since then, at least another six Indians were killed in similar attacks.
On Tuesday, an Indian sailor on a UAE-operated tanker, MT Mombasa, was killed by an Iranian missile. On Wednesday, an engineer missing after an attack on GFS Galaxy on July 12 was confirmed dead.
