Three lost lives and a diplomatic firestorm: Can India protect its seafarers in the Gulf?

As U.S. missile strikes claim Indian lives on the high seas, New Delhi faces the urgent challenge of shielding its maritime workforce amid escalating regional tensions.

The engine room of the Settebello was meant to be a place of work, not a graveyard. Yet, for a chief engineer, an engine fitter, and a deck cadet, it became the site of a fatal precision strike on June 10. Following similar attacks on the Marivex and Jalveer over a span of 72 hours, the reality for thousands of Indians working on merchant vessels has shifted from routine global trade to surviving a geopolitical crossfire. With U.S. Central Command justifying these Hellfire missile strikes as a crackdown on the illicit transport of Iranian oil, the collateral damage is increasingly wearing an Indian face.

The human cost of the blockade

India’s maritime footprint is vast; one in every six seafarers serving on large merchant ships worldwide is Indian. The Ministry of Shipping estimates that out of 3.5 lakh Indian seafarers globally, approximately 23,000 are currently operating within the broader Gulf region. When the U.S. Navy targeted these vessels off the coasts of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz, they weren't just hitting tankers—they were hitting the backbone of India’s maritime economy. While the U.S. maintains that these ships refused to comply with blockade protocols, New Delhi has pushed back firmly, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar publicly stating that lethal force against commercial shipping is fundamentally unjustified.

A precarious maritime security situation

The situation has left nearly 20,000 seafarers of all nationalities, including a significant number of Indians, effectively stranded. The Settebello, Marivex, and Jalveer were disabled above the waterline, turning them into floating, immobile targets. As the UAE remains a primary hub for these workers, the government is on its highest alert, with the Directorate General of Shipping scrambling to monitor the safety of those caught in the turmoil. Discussions are now underway with both Washington and regional stakeholders to ensure that the vital access routes, including those linked to the Chabahar port project, remain viable and safe.

Why it matters: The bigger picture

This crisis reveals a widening gap between global power projection and the safety of the civilian labor force that keeps the world’s supply chains moving. For India, the challenge is two-fold: maintaining a diplomatic balancing act with the U.S. while ensuring that our merchant sailors are not treated as expendable pawns in a blockade. If New Delhi cannot secure guarantees for the safety of its citizens, the psychological and economic ripple effects will be felt across the entire shipping industry. The incident serves as a grim reminder that in the age of precision warfare, the "human backbone" of global trade is increasingly vulnerable to the policies of distant administrations.

Moving forward, the pressure on the Ministry of External Affairs to extract concrete security assurances from the U.S. will only intensify. Whether this involves coordinating naval escorts or formalizing safer transit corridors, India is being forced to treat its civilian maritime presence with the same strategic urgency it reserves for its territorial borders.