NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday condemned an attack on a commercial tanker off the coast of Oman that left three Indian crew members missing and formally lodged a protest with the US over the incident.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the vessel, Settebello, was attacked in waters off Oman. According to the ministry, 21 of the 24 Indian crew members on board had been rescued.
As part of its response, India summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to convey its concerns. According to media reports, Additional Secretary (Americas) Nagaraj Naidu met the senior American diplomat and registered a strong protest, stressing that attacks endangering the lives of Indian seafarers were unacceptable.
The MEA said the Indian Embassy in Oman was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities involved in the ongoing search-and-rescue efforts.
The Palau-flagged tanker had been sailing from Lianyungang in China to Fujairah in the UAE when it came under attack. The vessel carried a crew of 28, including 24 Indians, two Pakistanis, one Russian, and one Ukrainian.
Omani armed forces rescued 21 Indian crew members following the incident.
The attack came just two days after another strike on a tanker carrying an all-Indian crew, raising fresh concerns about the safety of Indian seafarers operating in the region.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its latest round of military operations against Iran had concluded. In a statement, CENTCOM said American forces targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defence sites.
It added that assets from the US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy had carried out precision strikes on targets that were considered a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in regional waters.
CENTCOM maintained that the operations were launched in response to what it described as Iran’s continued aggression and said US forces remained prepared for further contingencies, according to theguardian.com.
Separately, Kuwait announced the temporary closure of its airspace after reporting that its air defence systems were intercepting what it described as hostile aerial targets. The country’s civil aviation authority said some flights would be diverted as a precautionary measure amid the heightened regional tensions.
