On the frontlines: How Indian sailors are paying the price in Middle East war
India's maritime workers are confronting unprecedented challenges as wartime conflicts reconfigure shipping routes into perilous zones. The recent loss of life among Indian sailors in attacks on commercial vessels has raised alarm. With many enduring extended time away from home and facing harsh conditions at sea, their families live in constant worry about their safety. The call for better…
Indian merchant seafarers face increasing danger as the Middle East conflict escalates. Once a simple workplace, the sea has become a battlefield for thousands of Indian sailors transporting oil, fuel and essential cargo through some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Since February's US-Israel war with Iran, many Indian seafarers have navigated through missile strikes, drone attacks and naval hostilities, resulting in fatalities, injuries and prolonged deployments in conflict zones.
India, the world's second-largest supplier of seafarers, has borne the brunt of these attacks, with 166 seafarers currently in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, while 3,972 have been repatriated. The mounting toll includes deaths such as Captain Ashish Kumar, Deonandan Prasad Singh, Deonandan Prasad Singh, and Chief Engineer Patnala Suresh, among others.
Calls are growing for stronger protection of merchant seafarers, with the Federation of Seafarers' Unions of India urging the deployment of Navy assets to safeguard Indian-flagged ships and crews in the threatened waters.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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