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India connected Thursday (June 11, 2026) said three merchant ships with Indian unit members came nether onslaught from American subject disconnected the seashore of Oman successful the past 4 days, resulting successful the decease of 3 nationals, and it has lodged a beardown protestation with the U.S. implicit the strikes.
It was New Delhi's archetypal nationalist acknowledgement that the U.S. Navy targeted the 3 ships with Indian unit members. New Delhi asserted that these attacks indispensable stop.
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A Palau-flagged lipid tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by U.S. forces connected June 8. All unit members were safely rescued. On June 10, the U.S. struck different Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, sidesplitting 3 retired of the 24 Indian sailors connected board.
Another vessel, Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indians, was attacked connected Thursday (June 11).
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said astatine a quality briefing that the 3 abstracted strikes connected Settebello, Marivex and Jalveer "came from the U.S. Navy".
In a societal media post, the U.S. Central Command said Jalveer was "disabled" arsenic a combat craft fired 2 Hellfire missiles into the vessel's motor country aft the unit "repeatedly failed to comply with directions from U.S. forces".
It said that Jalveer "violated the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil".
Following the onslaught connected Settebello connected Wednesday (June 10) that killed 3 Indians, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks and helium was handed a demarche oregon diplomatic enactment of protest.
"We connect precocious value to the payment and well-being of our seafaring community. When this peculiar onslaught connected the vessel Settebello occurred, we lodged a beardown protestation with the American side," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said astatine an inter-ministerial media briefing.
"We summoned the U.S. Charge d'Affaires and helium was conveyed our deepest interest implicit the ongoing incidents of attacks. We besides registered our beardown protest," helium said.
Mr. Jaiswal emphasised that these attacks "must stop".
"We further conveyed that dialog and diplomacy is the mode guardant for the peaceful solution of the conflict, and that determination should beryllium unimpeded entree done the Strait of Hormuz successful accordance with planetary law," helium said.
"Therefore, we made our presumption precise wide connected each of these points, portion reiterating however important the lives of our radical are, payment and information of our radical are," helium added.
Mr. Jaiswal said 2 of the 3 vessels were taxable to sanctions administered by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), portion 1 had been classified arsenic non-compliant.
The OFAC is the fiscal quality and enforcement bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department and it acts against vessels progressive successful violating U.S. sanctions connected the merchantability of Iranian and Russian oil.
"The 3 ships that person been progressive successful these incidents were foreign-flagged vessels. Two of them were Palau-flagged, portion the 3rd vessel is Guinea-Bissau-flagged. They were not Indian-owned ships," Mr. Jaiswal said.
Earlier, the U.S. Central Command confirmed strikes connected Settebello and Marivex.
Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said the evacuation of the seafarers connected Jalveer has commenced.
From Settebello, each the remaining 25 unit members, including 21 Indians, 2 Pakistanis, 1 Russian and 1 Ukrainian, person been safely evacuated, helium said, adding the Seamen Welfare Fund Society has been asked to wage ₹10 lakh to the household of each deceased.
He said much than 18,000 Indian seafarers remained successful the Gulf region, including 562 unit members aboard 13 Indian-flagged ships -- 329 connected vessels connected the westbound of the Strait of Hormuz and 233 connected vessels successful the Gulf of Oman.
In its reaction, India besides said that the continuing incidents of attacks connected shipping are profoundly worrisome and a nonstop effect of the ongoing struggle successful the region. New Delhi has been pressing for contiguous de-escalation of tensions and the decision of ongoing negotiations for a diplomatic solution.
"The targeting of commercialized shipping and civilian infrastructure successful the portion indispensable end, and escaped and unimpeded navigation and commerce done the planetary waterways successful the portion successful keeping with planetary instrumentality indispensable beryllium restored astatine the earliest," the MEA had said successful a connection connected Tuesday (June 9).
At a abstracted media briefing, Secretary (West) successful the MEA Sibi George indicated that the evolving concern successful West Asia arsenic good arsenic restrictions connected shipping done the Strait of Hormuz whitethorn fig successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral meetings connected the sidelines of the G7 acme successful France adjacent week.
