US Navy Strikes Three Tankers Off Oman, Indian Seafarers Among Crews

Over four days in June 2026, the United States Navy attacked three merchant tankers in the Gulf of Oman, all of which had Indian sailors on board. The vessels named Marivex, Settebello and Jalveer were hit one after another, on June 8, June 10 and June 11, 2026. The strikes were part of a wider American blockade meant to stop ships from carrying Iranian oil during the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.

The human cost fell heavily on India. Three Indian seafarers died when the Settebello was struck, including a chief engineer from Visakhapatnam and a young deck cadet from Himachal Pradesh. The remaining crew members were rescued and moved to safety at Oman's Shinas port. The United States military said it fired missiles only after the crews ignored repeated warnings, and accused the ships of trying to move Iranian oil in defiance of the blockade.

All three tankers carried a troubled history of safety failures, port detentions and, in two cases, sanctions by the United States Treasury. India's Ministry of External Affairs noted that two of the ships had been sanctioned while the third was non-compliant, but stressed that this did not justify endangering Indian lives. The vessels sailed under foreign flags such as Palau and Guinea-Bissau, a common practice in global shipping.

India summoned a senior United States diplomat and lodged a strong protest. The government called the attacks deeply worrying and demanded the safe return of the bodies of the dead. Officials pointed out that India had already advised recruiters in mid-February 2026 not to send seafarers on ships calling at Iranian ports, but the affected crews had joined before that advisory.

For aspirants, this episode shows how a distant war can directly harm Indian citizens. Roughly one in every ten seafarers worldwide is Indian, so any threat to merchant shipping in West Asia touches India's people, its trade and its energy supply at once.