New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) India on Thursday said that it has lodged a “strong protest” with the American side, conveying deepest concerns on the ongoing attacks on ships with Indian seafarers in West Asia in the last few days. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called for an end to such attacks and stated that India attaches great importance to the welfare and well-being of Indian seafarers’ community.

Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia in New Delhi on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India lodged a strong protest with the American side after the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello.

“There have been several incidents involving Indian seafarers in West Asia in the last few days. We attach high importance to the welfare and well-being of our seafarers’ community. We need not re-emphasise this point. Yesterday, we condemned the attack on a ship off the coast of Oman in which, unfortunately, we lost three Indian nationals. We had summoned the US CDA here to register a strong protest. The continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region are deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region. These attacks must cease and end. We also call for dialogue and diplomacy so that we can have an early return to peace and stability in the region,” said Jaiswal.

He mentioned that the the US Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi was summoned on Wednesday as India called for unimpeded access through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law.

“We attach high importance to the welfare and well-being of our seafaring community. As you know that we have a large seafaring community which is spread across the world. We also have large number of seafarers who are there in Persian Gulf and in West Asia and we are in touch with them through our Embassy and through the Ministry of Shipping to ensure their welfare and well-being,” said Jaiswal.

“When this particular attack happened on the ship Settebello, we lodged a strong protest with the American side. We called in the American CDA, and he was conveyed our deepest concerns on the ongoing incidents of attacks, as also we registered a strong protest with them. We conveyed that the welfare of our seafaring community is very important and the attacks that are happening must stop. We also conveyed that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward for peaceful resolution of the conflict and that there should be unimpeded access through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. So, we made our position very clear on each of these points while reiterating how important the lives of our people are, their welfare and safety,” he added.

All three ships involved in the incidents are foreign flagged.

“These attacks came from the US Navy that is stationed there. As you would have seen in the various reports as also in what was clarified through our statements and otherwise from this podium, the three ships that have been involved in the incidents are foreign flagged. Two of them Palau flagged, and the third one, which came under attack today, is Guinea flagged. They are not Indian owned ships, they are all foreign flagships. I also understand that two of them are OFAC sanctioned ships and one of them also is in the category of non-compliant ship,” said Jaiswal.

Earlier in the day, the Indian Embassy in Oman reported a fresh vessel incident off Oman’s Shinas port.

On Wednesday, an attack was reported on a commercial vessel, Settebello, off the coast of Oman. Of the 24 Indian crew members onboard the vessel, 21 were rescued while three others were killed.

The first incident involved MT Marivex on June 8, when a fire erupted aboard the vessel carrying 24 Indian seafarers south of the Strait of Hormuz.

–IANS

akl/as