Three Indian nationals were killed after the U.S. military fired at a Palau-flagged tanker off the coast of Oman, an Indian official said today.
Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s minister of ports, shipping & waterways said the three seafarers on the Settebello had been confirmed dead, with two bodies recovered so far. “This is a profound loss to our maritime family,” Sonowal said in a post on X, adding that India’s government “stands firmly with the bereaved during this difficult hour and is fully committed to supporting the next of kin.”
It comes after U.S. Central Command confirmed that U.S. military forces had disabled the Settebello in the Gulf of Oman yesterday. It said the tanker had “violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.”
CENTCOM said it moved to disable the tanker, with a U.S. aircraft firing precision munitions into the ship’s engine room “after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces.” It was one of a series of vessels that U.S. forces have disabled, with scores more redirected, since Washington launched its blockade in April.