3 Indian sailors killed in US attack on oil tanker off Oman coast

India's Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal confirmed that three Indian seafarers initially reported missing have died after their Palau-flagged oil tanker, the MT Settebello, was attacked by US military forces in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week on Thursday (June 11). The bodies of all three missing crew members have been recovered and identified as deck cadet Aditya Sharma, engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasiya, and chief engineer Patnala Suresh.

The vessel was carrying a total of 28 crew members, including 24 Indian nationals and four foreign nationals from Pakistan, Ukraine, and Russia, when US Central Command forces targeted it with precision munitions. The remaining 21 Indian sailors were safely rescued, though the ship's management company has reported severe difficulties establishing stable communications with the crew on board, reports NDTV.

Minister Sonowal called the incident a profound loss to the maritime family and stated that the Modi government is working on the immediate repatriation of the survivors and the swift return of the deceased's mortal remains.

The deadly escalation prompted New Delhi to summon Washington's charge d'affaires to lodge a strong diplomatic protest. Condemning the attack, India reiterated its call for immediate regional de-escalation, warning that attacks on shipping in the critical waterway are deeply worrisome. The incident takes place against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict in the Middle East that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, leaving the critical Strait of Hormuz almost completely blocked.

US Central Command later acknowledged the strike via social media, stating that a US warplane fired on the tanker and successfully disabled the vessel after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces. Washington defended the military action by alleging that the Settebello was violating a US blockade on Iranian ports by attempting to transport oil from Iran. The blockade, enforced by the US since April to counter a competing Iranian blockade of the shipping lane, has continuously broken down despite recent weeks of fragile ceasefire talks.