Samar Chaurasia used to speak to his father, Shivanand Chaurasia, on the phone several times a day while he worked overseas on an oil tanker. Then, without warning, the calls stopped.
Shivanand Chaurasia, an engine fitter just six months into his first voyage, was among three crew members killed on June 10 when MT Settebello was struck in the Gulf of Oman during an attack by the United States.
Since the US-Israel war with Iran began, 10 Indian sailors have been killed and dozens more injured, some critically, as commercial cargo ships and oil tankers have repeatedly come under attack in the battle for control of key shipping lanes in the Middle East.
Indians make up one of the world’s largest merchant shipping workforces, with more than 300,000 seafarers employed globally, according to Indian government data.
The US alleged the ship Samar’s father was on was carrying sanctioned Iranian oil, but the vessel operator denied it was associated with Tehran and said no warning was issued before the ship was struck.
India’s government has now become one of the first to take action to try and protect its sailors, including new monitoring measures and asking companies to stop hiring Indian workers.
But for some families, the measures have come too late.
‘My brother did nothing wrong’
Shivanand Chaurasia was the sole earner for his family.
His wife, Sushila, said the family sold their farmland to pay for his training to become an engine fitter.
Sushila has been left devastated by the loss of her husband. (ABC News: Som Patidar)
“My entire world collapsed when I heard the news,” the 31-year-old said.
“He loved our children very much; he loved me very much. He couldn’t go a single day without speaking to us.
“He used to call at least four times a day.”
Samar’s father was trying to save up to send him to a better school. (ABC News: Rachel Clayton )
Sushila said the last call she had with her husband was at 9pm the night before the oil tanker he was working on was attacked.
“I was at my mother’s house. He asked how we were, and I told him to call back in five minutes because our youngest was crying,” she said.
“That’s the last time I spoke to him.”
Sushila said her family has asked for 1 crore rupees ($148,500) in compensation from the Indian government to help support her two children: six-year-old Samar and two-year-old Vyamika.
“He was on the ship for six months, and we didn’t get a single penny sent home,” she said.
Vyamika Chaurasia lost her father while he was overseas. (ABC News: Rachel Clayton)
Sushila, like other Indian families who have lost loved ones to the war, struggles to understand why Indians are being dragged into a conflict they want nothing to do with.
“I want to tell America: Why are you killing Indians even though they have nothing to do with war?”
she said.
“If ships are not allowed, seafarers are not allowed there; then please send them back home. Do not kill them.”
Shivanand’s younger brother Ram Pravesh echoed her anger.
Ram Pravesh Chaurasia says his brother was killed while simply trying to earn money. (ABC News: Som Patidar)
“This is a fight between Iran and Israel and America … but it’s Indians who are being hit,” he said.
“My brother did nothing wrong. He went there to work, to earn money, and they killed him.”
Shipping companies warned not to hire Indians
As the killing of Indian workers continues, the Indian government has been forced to act.
Last week, two separate ship attacks killed engineer Herambh Karmark and engine officer Rohan Kumar, which the US blamed on Iran.
In the wake of the two deaths, New Delhi lodged a strong protest with Iran, summoning its deputy ambassador over the recent deaths of its seafarers and announced a series of new measures.
India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways will now actively begin monitoring every Indian seafarer on every vessel in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman using a real-time dashboard to be built by the country’s Directorate General of Shipping.
Families have been left bereft by the deaths of three crew in the US attack on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello. (Reuters: Priyanshu Singh)
The government has not said how it will collect the data, particularly if a ship’s transponder is turned off.
It also issued an advisory notice to shipping companies to avoid hiring any new Indian workers for voyages through the Strait of Hormuz.
The notice makes shipping companies responsible if newly hired Indian crew members are injured or killed.
Yet unions have demanded even stronger action, given 20,000 sailors remain on board 1,600 commercial vessels in or around the Strait of Hormuz.
The Maritime Union of India has asked members to sign a petition addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding he use diplomacy to “secure safe passage, de-escalation, and humanitarian protection” for all workers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) has also urged Mr Modi “to register a strict official protest with the [United Nations] against the killing of innocent Indian seafarers in the US-Israel-Iran conflict zone”.
“Dozens of Indian lives have been lost due to targeted attacks on civilian merchant ships. Seafarers are not collateral damage,” the union said in a statement on X.
The FSUI is also demanding an immediate, independent inquiry into the deadly strikes, compensation of $US5 million ($7.13 million) for the families of those killed, and stronger safety protocols to protect maritime workers who remain in the region.
‘No compensation’ despite risky deployment
Rescued sailors contacted by the ABC have said they cannot talk about what happened because it could jeopardise their chances of being hired again.
But the older brother of a sailor who survived the attack on the MT Settebello said his sibling described being stranded on the ship after the strike took out the ship’s power.
“He was completely shaken for the first 10 days after he returned,” the man, who the ABC has chosen not to identify, said.
He said his brother still gets frightened if he hears loud bangs.
“There’s been no compensation from the company for being involved in such a risky deployment.“
The sailor’s brother said most ships’ crews were aware that attacks from Iran or the US almost always targeted the engine room, and if they had had prior warning, they would have made sure that room had been cleared.
“They did not have any information about the attack. Otherwise, the chief engineer and fitter would not have been in the engine room.”
