All three Indian crew members who went missing after an attack on a commercial oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz have succumbed to injuries, reports Reuters on Thursday. These deaths signal an escalation in an international incident that unfolded several days ago, when the tanker Settebello was attacked near Oman. The vessel, with 28 crew members – of whom 24 belonged to India – had caught fire following a strike on its engine room off one of the most important waterways in the world for energy exports.

Manoj Yadav, General Secretary of the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), revealed that the dead crew members had been from Himachal Pradesh; Deoria in Uttar Pradesh; and Andhra Pradesh. Search efforts were on until their deaths were confirmed after a search for the missing Indian chief engineer of the vessel had been underway for some time.

The area in which the attack occurred remains quite volatile owing to the existing political tension surrounding Iran, the United States, and Israel. UKMTO, along with maritime security company Vanguard Tech, were the first institutions to raise the alarm as soon as distress signals from the attacked ship revealed that the tanker had been hit by a missile in the engine room, which led to a massive fire breaking out onboard.

US Central Command says tanker violated blockade

The geopolitical situation has escalated following the announcement by the US military of an incident whereby one of its airplanes launched an attack against the tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

US standpoint: US Central Command claimed through X (former Twitter) that the tanker had been disabled when it tried to smuggle Iranian oil into international waters despite being under a blockade enforced by the US military. Command officials further stated that the crew of the tanker “repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces.”

The response from the Maritime Union: FSUI General Secretary Manoj Yadav fiercely opposed the US military’s actions. While speaking to ANI, Yadav said that it was impossible for the US military intelligence to lack knowledge about the nationalities of the civilians aboard the intercepted ship.

“I absolutely refuse to believe that the US lacked information regarding the nationalities of the people on board those ships,” Yadav stated. “I am 101% certain that US naval forces knew exactly how many Indians and foreign nationals were on those vessels. If the ships failed to heed their instructions, detaining them was a viable alternative.”

New Delhi’s response: The Ministry of External Affairs condemns military strike

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it was now confirmed that all the 21 mariners rescued by the Indian Navy were indeed Indian nationals. The MEA, which condemned the military action taken against innocent civilians, warned about the growing attacks in the region and their connection to the ongoing West Asian conflict.

The representatives from India raised strong concerns regarding the attack by the military force on the ship transporting its citizens. India’s Ministry of External Affairs conveyed India’s demand for an urgent need for de-escalating the ongoing conflict in the region and resorting to diplomacy for ensuring the safety of passage.