Indian seafarers in West Asia should be cautious: Shipping Ministry

Indian seafarers in West Asia should be cautious, but there are no directives asking them to return home, the centre said Thursday. Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on developments in West Asia, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways said, “The directive is not to return home. The directive is to remain employed, work on the ship, but be safe. And that is why the advisories have been issued.”

Responding to an ET query, he said Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) has issued advisories to the Indian seafarers, whether they are employed on Indian flagged vessels or on foreign flagged vessels.

Sinha said there have been maritime incidents involving Indian crew on foreign-flagged vessels. “Of these vessels, there were 78 Indian seafarers. Of these, 70 are unhurt and escaped. Four sustained injuries over the last few days, but are stable. Unfortunately, there have been three casualties and one seafarer is missing,” he told journalists.


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It is estimated some 23,000 Indian seafarers are stranded in all Gulf countries, mostly on foreign flagged ships, which are facing attacks. There are also 28 Indian-flagged vessels in the Persian gulf. Of these, 24 vessels with 677 Indian seafarers are on West-side of Hormuz strait, while four vessels with 101 Indian seafarers are on the East side and floating on high seas.

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Tensions in West Asia flared up after a joint Israel-US air strike eliminated Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since launched retaliatory attacks, bringing ship movement in the Persian Gulf to a standstill. These developments have chocked the supply of oil and gas around the world. Exporters are also struggling with heightened risks raising shipping freight, and containers. India is vulnerable due to its dependence on West Asia as a key export destination and as a source of fuel.