India has strongly protested the US Navy's actions in the Gulf of Oman following attacks that resulted in the deaths of three Indian mariners. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar conveyed India's condemnation directly to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, emphasizing that such lethal force against commercial shipping cannot be justified.
The protest follows a US military strike on the commercial tanker MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday. Of the 24 Indian nationals aboard, 21 were rescued, but three were confirmed dead. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is working to repatriate their remains. India also summoned the US Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks twice to lodge a formal protest over the escalating maritime security concerns off the Omani coast, including another incident involving a commercial ship with 20 Indian crew members.
The US Armed Forces’ Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that it used Hellfire missiles to disable three vessels—the M/T Jalveer, M/T Settebello, and M/T Marivex—over four days. CENTCOM claimed these vessels were violating a naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports. Sixty-five crew members from the three ships were reportedly rescued and brought to shore.
In a contrasting statement, President Donald Trump attributed the incidents involving vessels with Indian crews to an Iranian drone attack, further clouding the circumstances surrounding the attacks and the security situation in the waters near the Strait of Hormuz.
The wider Gulf region employs approximately 18,000 Indian nationals on foreign-flagged merchant ships, with 622 Indian seafarers currently operating on 13 India-flagged vessels in the waters surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. The Directorate General of Shipping has issued a fresh maritime security advisory for mariners in the area.