A U.S. attack on a commercial oil tanker that killed three Indian sailors has sparked outrage among Indians and added new friction to an already tense situation between New Delhi and Washington.
On Wednesday morning, pilot Settebello was sailing through the Sea of Oman with a cargo of Iranian oil when a U.S. military jet fired a precision bullet into his engine compartment, causing a fire and sending smoke into the air, sparking a massive rescue operation.
The three men found dead after an attack on a Palau-flagged vessel are the first sailors confirmed killed in a US attack as part of the US government’s operation to block Iranian ports, raising concerns in India that its citizens are becoming collateral damage in a war other than their own.
The US military said the attack was carried out after the crew repeatedly disobeyed US military instructions to enforce the blockade.
New Delhi, increasingly concerned about the safety of seafarers amid the US-Israel-Iran war, is now calling on the US to halt attacks on transport ships.
“The attacks that are happening have to stop,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on Thursday after New Delhi summoned Washington’s chargé d’affaires.
The timing is particularly sensitive, coming just days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France next week.
Prime Minister Modi has not commented publicly on the death toll but has come under pressure from some trade unions to condemn the attack.
“When foreign forces kill Indian workers on the high seas, the Indian government must speak out loudly and firmly,” the Indian Trade Union Center in India said in a statement on Friday.
Kanti Vajpayee, an Indian political scientist, said the issue “has already become an irritant in India’s volatile relationship” with the United States.
Vajpayee, a visiting senior fellow at the Indian Center for Socio-Economic Progress, said further incidents involving Indian casualties and “venting public anger at home” could make it difficult for the Modi government to contain the issue.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, most of the 28 sailors on board the Settevalo were Indian nationals.
Just a day earlier, another 24 Indian sailors had to be rescued from another commercial oil tanker, the M/T Malibex, which was also attacked by US forces in the Gulf of Oman.
And on Thursday, the U.S. military fired a missile into the engine room of a third Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker as it attempted to transport Iranian oil. The ship also had an Indian crew on board, but they were reported to be safe.
The families of the three murdered people are grappling with grief and seeking answers about the final moments of their loved ones.
“My only request is that my son’s remains be brought home,” Rajesh Sharma, the father of one of the sailors, told Indian news agency ANI. “I would like to know what happened in his final moments. Was he given any rescue assistance? In what circumstances did the three of our crew members die?”
According to Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Front Seafarers Union (FSUI), India is one of the largest suppliers of merchant marine labor, with over 300,000 seafarers worldwide.
Many of them work on foreign-flagged vessels operating in volatile regions, making them particularly at risk when tensions rise.
Yadav said the recent attacks have caused “panic and fear” among Indian seafarers, many of whom have been stranded in the Gulf since the conflict began.
He questioned why the U.S. military would need to attack a commercial ship that was not carrying ammunition, saying, “They could easily board the ship and detain it if necessary.”
Indian opposition groups see the deaths as a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic clout.
“A prime minister who has repeatedly touted his close personal relationship with President Donald Trump as a diplomatic achievement cannot escape responsibility if that relationship fails to protect Indian lives,” the Indian National Congress said in a statement.
India’s Ports and Shipping Minister said the government “stands firmly with the families of the deceased.”
Over the past year, once-strong relations between India and the United States (both members of the Quad security group) have deteriorated as political and economic tensions have begun to overshadow their strategic partnership.
Friction intensified last May when US President Donald Trump publicly claimed to have mediated between India and Pakistan during a brief but deadly conflict, renewing New Delhi and Islamabad’s sensitivity to third-party involvement in the Kashmir dispute.
Tensions were further exacerbated by high U.S. tariffs on many Indian exports.
Vajpayee, the political scientist, said Washington’s “burgeoning relationship with Pakistan,” India’s main rival, was adding to the friction. President Trump has repeatedly praised Pakistan’s Defense Secretary, Gen. Asim Munir, who has emerged as a key interlocutor in U.S.-Iran negotiations.
The US government recently appointed an ambassador to India and is working to mend relations with Delhi, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit last month.
But India may now be exploring other gestures from the US in a bid to curb domestic pressure over seafarer deaths.
“Some public expression of regret by the United States would be helpful,” Vajpayee said. “India has four so-called basic military agreements with the United States, but it may be necessary to remind the American side that two agreements are needed to preserve the spirit of these agreements.”
No matter what happens at the political level, the families of the victims have no choice but to resolve the issue.
Ramji Chaurasia, another father of one of the slain sailors, told ANI that he had spoken to his son the day before the attack.
“He said everything was okay,” Chaurasiya said, breaking down in tears.
