India’s Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) has issued an advisory directing ship owners, ship managers and recruitment agencies to ‘avoid deploying Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages including passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders’.
The Directorate says it considers it necessary to adopt ‘enhanced precautionary measures’ in light of the heightened security situation in the Persian Gulf region, including incidents resulting in casualties among Indian seafarers and continuing attacks on merchant vessels during the ongoing conflict.
Last week saw a flare-up of attacks on merchant ships in the region – both by Iran on ships using the so-called Southern (Omani) Corridor that it refuses to recognise as an authorised transit route, and by the US on ships deemed to be trying to violate its reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Specifically, the tanker Mombasa B was one of two VLCCS managed by UAE company ADNOC L&S that was attacked while off the Omani coast on 14 July, resulting in the death of an Indian engineer and injuries to eight other crew members, three critical, when the ship’s engine room was struck. A total of 45 crew members were reported to have been evacuated by Omani authorities following the attacks, of whom 30 were Indian nationals and 15 Ukrainians.
