US Hellfire missiles enforce Iran blockade, draw Indian protest over 3 deaths

THree native american seafarers reported missing after a US assail on a tank driver away the coast of muscat and oman have died, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday, hours after US forces targeted another merchant vessel with 20 Indian crew members in the same region.The three Indian seafarers were reported missing after Omani armed forces rescued the other 25 crew members, including 21 Indians, from the Palau-flagged MT Settebello following an attack by a US aircraft on Wednesday.“It is deeply unfortunate to learn of the tragic incident aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello. Sadly, three Indian seafarers initially reported missing are now confirmed dead after bodies have been located and identified,” Sonowal said on social media.Describing the deaths as a “profound loss to our maritime family”, Sonowal said the government “stands firmly with the bereaved during this difficult hour and is fully committed to supporting the next of kin”.Sonowal said he had directed officials to ensure the immediate repatriation of the rescued crew members and the swift return of the bodies of the dead.Aseem Mahajan, additional secretary (Gulf) in the external affairs ministry, told a media briefing that MT Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel with 20 Indian crew members, was attacked off Shinas port in Oman on Thursday. “All [crew members] are reportedly safe. Our mission in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities for the safe evacuation of the Indian crew,” he said.The US Central Command said on social media that Jalveer was “disabled” when a combat aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces”. It added that Jalveer “violated the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil”.The 24 Indian crew members on Marivex, a Palau-flagged vessel targeted in a US missile strike on Monday, had been evacuated to safety by the Omani military and are expected to return home on Friday, Mahajan said.External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the same media briefing that US charge d’affaires Jason Meeks had been summoned to the ministry on Wednesday to register a strong protest over the attacks on vessels with Indian crew members. India had also condemned the attack on Settebello that resulted in the death of three Indians, he said.“We conveyed that the welfare of our seafaring community is very important and the attacks that are happening must stop. We also conveyed that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and that there should be unimpeded access through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law,” Jaiswal said.“The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region. These attacks must end,” he said.India has a total of more than 320,000 seafarers — the second highest in the world — and more than 18,000 are in West Asia, said Mukesh Mangal, additional secretary in the shipping ministry. There are 562 Indian seafarers on Indian-flagged vessels in the Persian Gulf, including 329 in vessels to the west of the Strait of Hormuz and 233 in vessels to the east of the waterway.Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), described the attacks on merchant vessels as unacceptable. “It is unacceptable that merchant vessels and their crew members are being attacked in this manner. The vessels that were attacked were not carrying any weapons,” Yadav said.“Both Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the US have targeted merchant vessels during the ceasefire,” Yadav said. “The US attacks have targeted the engine room of the vessels, which are full of fuel and other combustible materials, thus increasing the risk to the crews.”People familiar with the matter said all three vessels targeted by US forces this week had links to the so-called shadow fleet and a history of suspicious activities in recent weeks. They noted that Marivex reported Fujairah as its next port of call, but this was not verified with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). When Marivex was warned by US forces on June 7 for violating the blockade, the vessel said it would comply with the warning and move south toward Masirah Island, but then attempted to mask its position by turning off its transponders to evade the blockade again, the people said.Jalveer had made several calls at Iranian ports and was allegedly involved in ship-to-ship transfers with vessels on the US sanction list, the people said. Settebello allegedly violated the US blockade through an attempt to transport Iranian oil, they said.