Why are only Indian seafarers being targeted by the United States? This is the question being asked by Indian sailors aboard merchant vessels trapped in the Strait of Hormuz after a series of US strikes on Indian-crewed ships that have already claimed Indian lives. Nothing exposes the hollowness of the Modi regime's claims of national pride and global prestige more brutally than its response to these attacks. When Indian citizens were killed by US missiles and denied even the most basic humanitarian assistance at sea, the Modi government found neither its voice nor its spine. Instead, it continued to genuflect before Washington and deepen India's subordination to the US-led imperialist axis.
In the span of four days, the US military attacked three Indian-crewed ships in the region. The first strike, on June 8, targeted MT Marivex, and the Ministry of External Affairs responded with nothing more than a routine demarche to the US envoy. This was followed by an attack on MT Settebello on June 10 in the Gulf of Oman, when a US missile struck the vessel's engine room, killing three Indian seafarers — Patnala Suresh, Aditya Sharma and Shivanand Chaurashiya. Yet even as Indian sailors lay dead and missing after the vessel was hit by American firepower, Prime Minister Modi was busy declaring that he looked forward to further advancing India-US ties. He uttered no words on the killing of Indian citizens. The very next day, another Indian-crewed vessel, MT Jalveer, came under attack off the coast of Oman. Even after three attacks on Indian-crewed ships and the deaths of Indian mariners, the Modi government restricted itself to diplomatic formalities and generic appeals for de-escalation, refusing to unequivocally condemn the United States for attacks that had already cost Indian lives. The MEA statement further noted that the vessels were under “US sanctions”, as though the sanction status of a ship somehow diminishes the value of Indian lives or excuses the killing of Indian seafarers.
The conduct of the United States following these attacks was no less criminal. Despite the presence of American naval assets in the vicinity, no assistance was extended to the stricken crews. International maritime law, long-established maritime conventions and centuries-old customary obligations impose a clear duty to render assistance to persons in distress at sea. Such obligations have been recognised even during periods of armed conflict and have long been considered among the most basic principles governing conduct at sea. Of course, no one expected the United States, a state with a long record of violating international law and trampling upon the most elementary norms of humanity, to uphold these obligations. However, the silence and passivity of the Modi government in the face of such actions reveal with equal clarity where this regime stands when the lives, dignity and safety of Indian citizens come into conflict with its strategic alignment with Washington.
Thousands of Indian seafarers currently remain stranded aboard merchant vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz as a direct consequence of the illegal American naval blockade and the imperialist aggression unleashed against Iran by the US-Israeli axis. The attacks on Indian-crewed vessels are only one aspect of the crisis confronting these workers. Equally shameful has been the complete indifference displayed by Indian authorities towards the welfare and safety of Indian sailors trapped in the region.
On June 11, Uirthanathan, a 35-year-old second officer aboard MT Celestial Sea, died on the vessel despite repeated appeals for medical evacuation. For days, as his condition deteriorated, his comrades raised urgent distress calls through every available international protocol. Appeals were made to the Marine Rescue Coordination Committee, messages were sent to the vessel's management company, Romana Shipping Company, and requests were directed to the authorities at Oman's Duqm port. For more than three days, he remained critically ill aboard the vessel, located not far from the coast and within reach of assistance, while desperate efforts were made to secure medical care. Despite mounting urgency, no effective intervention and no evacuation was secured in time. Uirthanathan ultimately died after suffering for days without access to the medical treatment that could have saved his life. Even after his death, his colleagues were forced to resort to rudimentary methods to slow the decomposition of his body while continuing to plead for assistance. It was only after the crew released a video exposing their ordeal that Indian authorities finally moved to organise an evacuation.
This tragedy raises a simple but devastating question. What is the purpose of PM Modi’s foreign trips, the photo ops, the embraces, the handshakes and the endless chest-thumping about India's global stature if Indian citizens in distress abroad cannot receive even the most basic assistance when their lives are on the line? The only beneficiaries of Modi’s globetrotting trips are Adani and other big corporate interests that reap the rewards of strategic partnerships and commercial agreements while ordinary Indians are left to fend for themselves in moments of crisis.
These actions and inactions expose the Modi regime's complete contempt for the lives and safety of Indians. It is the same contempt that was visible when Indians were deported by Trump from the US in handcuffs and shackles while the government remained silent. It is the same contempt that repeatedly surfaces whenever the interests of ordinary Indians collide with the regime's desire to preserve its strategic partnership with the United States. This is the inevitable price of mortgaging India's strategic autonomy and national interests to the US-Israel imperialist axis.
The families of the deceased seafarers deserve justice and full compensation. The government must immediately take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and welfare of Indian seafarers stranded in the region and pursue every available diplomatic and legal avenue to secure accountability for the attacks on Indian-crewed vessels and the deaths of Indian sailors.
The Modi government recently renamed the PMO as Seva Teerth, but what we are witnessing is “Seva” for Trump and nothing for the people of India. Modi’s meek surrender before the United States, and before Trump, even in the face of crimes committed against Indian citizens, will neither be forgotten nor tolerated.
