Indian Seafarer Killed in Attack on Vessel Al Jusufi off Oman
One Indian seafarer has died and 13 others have been rescued after the India-flagged vessel MSV Al Jusufi was struck by what officials called an “unidentified aerial object” near Limah, on the coast of Oman, on the evening of Monday, 2 November. Limah is a small coastal village on Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, which faces the Gulf of Oman close to the Strait of Hormuz.
All 14 crew members on board were Indian nationals. Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said 13 of them were evacuated and rescued by the Omani Coast Guard. The seafarer who lost his life was named as Gandhar Nahim Ajij from Gujarat, who died of his injuries. Officials have not yet given details of the damage to the vessel or the cargo it was carrying.
On Tuesday, 3 November, India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack on the commercial vessel. It said the continuing attacks on merchant shipping in the region were deeply worrying, and called for an immediate easing of tensions and for free and safe navigation to be restored. The Indian Embassy in Muscat is working with Omani authorities to bring the rescued crew and the body of the deceased seafarer home as early as possible.
The incident is the latest in a long series of attacks on merchant ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the regional conflict began earlier this year. Several Indian seafarers have already lost their lives in these attacks.
The attack shows that smaller India-flagged vessels trading along the Gulf and Omani coasts face the same dangers as large tankers. Crews and owners operating in the area are expected to follow the latest Indian government advisories closely, and ships’ crews need to keep emergency, firefighting and abandon-ship arrangements ready at all times.
