NEW DELHI: India condemned fresh attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea that left Indian crew members injured, as conflicts in both regions endanger seafarers and disrupt the international shipping trade.
A projectile struck the Panama-flagged tanker MT On Peace as it transited the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, injuring 12 of its 19 crew members, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Eleven of those injured were Indian nationals. The crew members were evacuated with assistance from Omani authorities and are receiving treatment in Khasab, according to the statement.
"The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region remain a cause of deep concern for India,” the ministry said, calling for an immediate halt to such strikes.
In a separate statement, India also condemned an attack on MV Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea that killed two foreign seafarers and injured several crew, including the three Indians on board. The injured were rescued by Romanian authorities and were receiving medical care, the ministry said.
Multiple Indian seafarers have died in attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea this year. The country is the second-largest supplier of sailors with more than 310,000 Indians working on merchant ships, according to an estimate from trade association BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping.
New Delhi on Tuesday (Oct 6) said attacks on traffic in international waterways were "severely undermining global commerce” and reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy to end ongoing conflicts.
India has been consistently raising the issue for months. During his meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian on June 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce through the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring the safety of seafarers, according to the External Affairs Ministry.
The country has also sought to build a broader diplomatic response to threats against commercial shipping. In September, India joined Liberia in launching the "Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers” on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. - Bloomberg
