The Indian government has voiced a “strong protest” after three Indian seafarers were killed in US military strikes against oil tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command confirmed that its aircraft had fired two Hellfire missiles at the engine room of the MT Settebello as it sailed through the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday.
The US said its forces had carried out “precision strikes” against the ship, which was sailing under the flag of the Pacific island of Palau, after its crew repeatedly failed to comply with instructions.
The US alleged the ship was violating its military blockade of Iranian ports, which it began enforcing in April in an effort to cut off revenue and increase pressure on Tehran as peace talks have continued to falter.
After the incident, 21 of the Indian crew onboard the MT Settebello were rescued but three were reported missing. By Thursday, the Indian government confirmed that their bodies had been discovered on the ship, the first fatalities since the US imposed the blockade.
The three men who died were named as Patnala Suresh, a chief engineer, Aditya Sharma, a deck cadet, and Shivanand Chaurashiya, a fitter.
Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s shipping and ports minister, called it a “profound loss to our maritime family”.
The Indian government condemned the attack and summoned a senior US diplomat in response to the deaths. “These attacks must cease and end,” the foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a briefing. “We also call for dialogue and diplomacy so that we can have an early return to peace and stability in the region.”
The general secretary of India’s seafarers, Manoj Yadav, said: “I am fully convinced that US naval forces knew how many Indians and other foreign nationals were on those vessels. If the ships did not comply with instructions, they could have been detained instead.”
The Indian government said on Thursday that it was monitoring all Indian-flagged vessels and crew in the Gulf closely.
The ship is one of three tankers with an Indian crew that have been hit by US missiles this week, putting further strain on already tense diplomatic relations between Delhi and Washington.
India is one of the world’s largest suppliers of merchant marine labour. Indian seafarers make up almost 15% of the global maritime workforce. With nearly a fifth of the world’s oil passing through the strait of Hormuz, there are large numbers of Indian seafarers working in Gulf countries and as crew on tankers.
A US fighter jet targeted the oil tanker Marivex on Monday, setting it alight and forcing Indian crew to be evacuated. Washington said the ship had previously carried oil that was under sanction and was trying to return to an Iranian port.
US forces then acted against another Indian-crewed tanker on Thursday, which was sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau, and which Washington alleged had attempted to transport oil from Iran through the Gulf of Oman and had not followed instructions.
The US and Iran began renewed tit-for-tat strikes this week, threatening an already fragile ceasefire and further undermining efforts to bring about a permanent peace deal.
As of Thursday, the US said it had disabled nine non-compliant vessels in the strait of Hormuz and redirected 135 others since its blockade began.