Indian sailor dies after MSV Al Jusufi attacked Off Oman, Shipping Minister reacts
One Indian sailor from Gujarat has died after the India-flagged MSV Al Jusufi was hit by an unidentified aerial object off Oman. Thirteen crew members were rescued
PTC Web Desk: An Indian sailor has died after a cargo vessel flying the Indian flag was hit near the coast of Oman, Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal confirmed.
The vessel, MSV Al Jusufi, was carrying 14 Indian crew members when an unidentified aerial object struck it on Monday. Thirteen of them got off the ship safely and were picked up by the Omani Coast Guard. The 14th, Gandhar Nahim Ajij, who was from Gujarat, died of his injuries.
Sonowal said on X that he was deeply saddened by the loss and offered his condolences to the sailor’s family. He added that the Shipping Ministry and the Indian Embassy in Oman are working with local authorities to help the 13 survivors. They will also arrange to bring the surviving crew and the body of the deceased sailor back to India as soon as possible.
Attacks on Indian-flagged ships are still uncommon, even with the ongoing US-Iran war and Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia. But the fighting around major shipping routes in and near the Gulf has hit Indian seafarers hard.
Government data released last week shows that at least 22 Indian nationals have died since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Fourteen of them were seafarers.
Many Indian crew members working on commercial ships have been caught in missile and drone attacks by both Iranian and American forces, as the Strait of Hormuz has turned into a key flashpoint in the Middle East conflict.
Notably, Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched attacks on February 28. Indian crew were caught up in the conflict almost immediately. A 33-year-old seafarer from Mumbai was killed on March 1 after a missile reportedly hit the product tanker MT MKD Vyom in the strait. Indian-flagged vessels have also been affected. An Indian-flagged ship carrying livestock from Somalia was reported hit and sunk off Oman on May 13, though all 14 crew were rescued.
The deadliest single episode for Indian crew came in June. Three Indian seafarers were killed in attacks by US forces on the oil tankers MT Marivex, MT Settebello and MT Jalveer between June 8 and June 11. The MT Settebello alone had at least 20 Indian crew members on board when a US missile struck it near the Strait of Hormuz. After the strikes, Indian seafarers’ unions said fear of American attacks was growing among the thousands of sailors working near the strait.
In July, India took diplomatic and regulatory action. On July 14, India summoned Iran’s Deputy Chief of Mission to lodge a strong protest after an Iranian missile strike on two UAE-flagged oil tankers killed an Indian seafarer and injured several others. Two days later, India’s maritime regulator directed ship owners, managers and recruitment agencies to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders. The sailors’ union said the ban had limited scope because most Indian seafarers work for foreign operators.
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