NEW DELHI: India summoned the senior US diplomat in New Delhi on Wednesday to lodge a "strong protest" after an attack on a vessel off the coast of Oman left three Indian crew members missing.
Diplomatic Protest
The foreign ministry "summoned (US) charge d'affaires, lodged a strong protest" over the attack on the commercial vessel, a senior Indian government official told AFP.
Missing Crew Members
Earlier, in a statement, India's foreign ministry confirmed that three Indian crew members were reported missing in an attack on a commercial tanker off Oman. New Delhi condemned the attack on the vessel, the Settebello, saying, "the 24 Indian crew onboard, 21 Indians have been rescued thus far, and three Indians are reportedly missing."
"Attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region. We reiterate our call for immediate de-escalation," the foreign ministry added.
Incident Details
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency also reported an incident 20 nautical miles northeast of Sohar in Oman, saying the vessel had reported one casualty and two crew members missing. "Local authorities have reported a tanker has experienced a fire in their engine room and are on the scene assisting with the evacuation of the crew," it said.
British maritime security company Vanguard Tech said the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello had "transmitted a distress call stating that its engine room had been struck by a missile while operating off Sohar in the Gulf of Oman" and that there was a fire on board.
Regional Context
A critical waterway for global fuel supplies, the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf has been almost completely blocked since the start of the Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
