[Editor’s Note: For the latest updates on how US-Iran hostilities have escalated since a 14-point deal was signed on June 12, follow the Khaleej Times live blog.]
The Indian embassy in the UAE has issued a statement on Tuesday, offering codolences over the death of an Indian crew member in Iranian attacks on two UAE tankers earlier today. “We condole the tragic loss of an Indian seafarer in the attacks on two vessels, Al Bahiyah & Mombasa B.” the mission said. The seafarer was a crew member of the Mombasa tanker.
The Indian diplomatic mission said that it is closely monitoring the situation. Communications are continuing between the embassy and local authorities to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families, it clarified.
The attack on the two UAE ships also resulted in the injury of eight seafarers, including four who sustained serious injuries. The injured comprise six Indian nationals and two Ukrainian nationals.
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In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Defence said the Iranian attack caused material damage to both tankers as a result of the fires that broke out on board, which have since been brought under control.
The deadly incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East since July 7, 2026. Several tankers were targeted by Iran’s IRGC on claims that they violated shipping rules in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military has so far responded to Iran’s attacks on ships by conducting waves of strikes on military targets in Iran. On Tuesday, the US Central Command said it accomplished a five-hour mission, striking military targets across Iran including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
The latest incidents in the vital waterway follow weeks of heightened tensions since the war broke out on February 28, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
The conflict has destabilised the Gulf and spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries. It has also thrown into question an interim US-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and halt hostilities.
Before the conflict began in February, around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas traffic passed through Hormuz daily, delivering more than 15 million barrels of fuel to global markets worth at least $1.2 billion.
Indian sailors in the crossfire
India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping, sending out hundreds of thousands of seafarers to work worldwide.
Thousands of Indian sailors have left the Gulf since the war began, including more than 3,600 aided by the South Asian nation’s shipping ministry.
But during the conflict between the United States and Iran, commercial shipping in the Gulf became a target, and some Indian mariners saw their vessels attacked and their shipmates killed or wounded.
Many who have since made it out remain apprehensive despite an interim deal to end the war, as sporadic violence has continued and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint.
Thirty-one-year-old Sitaram Tandel, from a small fishing village in India’s Gujarat state, saw the danger at first hand while aboard a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier.
In March, another vessel owned by his company, the crude tanker Safesea Vishnu, was attacked, killing an Indian crew member.
Weeks later, Tandel’s own vessel was hit by a strike. “Our luck ran out,” he said. “It was early morning, I was getting ready for my shift when we were struck.”
The crew escaped physically unharmed, and he said his family was “relieved” he was back home safely.
“No one died, but the entire crew slipped into depression after that. It was a life-changing experience, unimaginably scary,” he said. “I don’t know what lies next. The attack has left me shaken and too scared to go back to the Gulf, but I also have a family to feed.”
(With inputs from AFP)
Source: Khaleej Times