Conflict in West Asia: Andhra Pradesh sailors come under fire

A visual of the Palau-flagged oil tanker MT Settebello with 24 Indian sailors on board was attacked by US forces off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. | Photo credit: ANI

The human cost of the crisis took on a face this week. Patnala Suresh, 44, a chief engineer from Visakhapatnam, was among three Indian sailors killed in the US attack on MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on 10 June. His wife Bhargavi, who was left to care for two school-going children, appealed to the central and state governments to expedite the repatriation of his remains.

Within four days, two other vessels with Indian crews were also attacked in the Gulf of Oman. On 8 June MT Marivex was hit and all 24 Indians on board were rescued. MT Jalveer was targeted near the port of Shinas, Oman on 11 June; all 20 Indian crew members on board were safely evacuated.

India supplies roughly 12 to 15% of the world’s seafarers. Andhra Pradesh contributes disproportionately to this number. SV Durga Prasad, a marine engineer and consultant at the Indian Naval University, said there could be around 2,500 marine engineers from the region at sea at any given time, rising to more than 5,000 if qualifications and support crew were included. In the coastal villages around Visakhapatnam, almost every household has at least one family member who works on a boat.

Mr. Suresh’s case illustrates a pattern that has gone largely unnoticed: seafarers stuck long after their contract periods and unable to relieve themselves because sending replacement crews into the conflict zone has become all but impossible. “Knowing the current situation, very few people are willing to go into the war zone to relieve those already stuck,” said Mr. Durga Prasad. The ship cannot remain unmanned, so existing crews remain trapped until a safe harbor is reached.

VIDEO | Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: Bhargavi, wife of chief engineer Patnal Suresh, who died after the vessel attack off the Oman coast, says, “Last night I received a call and a text saying, ‘I’m sorry for the inconvenience. The drone attack took place on a ship in which your husband… pic.twitter.com/7R4cySRpEs

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 11, 2026

The nature of the containers increases the danger. Most ships in the region carry crude oil, LNG, LPG or chemical cargo. A captain who sailed through the strait said even a small breach could release vapors that would ignite immediately, and that the onboard fire-fighting systems were not designed to handle missile or drone attacks. The Indian Navy escorted vessels in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, but stopped before the strait itself, leaving the most dangerous stretch of the route without naval protection.

Prabal Kumar Mohanty, a retired chief engineer who served in high rank for more than five years, including strait cruises during the Iran-Iraq conflict, said the mental toll on the stranded crews was severe. Afterward, Mr. Mohanty sailed with the United Arab Shipping Company, along with crews from Iraq, Syria, Bahrain and Jordan, and recalled officers on board discussing ships that had been blown out of the water. “There’s a lot of mental trauma that sailors go through. They’re constantly under stress,” he said.

India summoned the American chargé d’affaires after the Settebell strike and lodged a formal protest. Expressing grief over Mr. Suresh’s death, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Empowerment and NRI Relations Kondapalli Srinivas said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had directed officials to extend all possible help to the family. Mr. Srinivas said AP Bhavan was in special negotiations with the Indian and Omani embassies and had directed officials of the Non-Resident Telugu Society of Andhra Pradesh to oversee the process till the mortal remains of Mr. Suresh reached Visakhapatnam.

I am deeply saddened by the death of Chief Engineer Patnala Suresh, a native of Visakhapatnam, in a missile attack on a ship off the coast of Oman. It is unfortunate that he lost his life in an unexpected attack on duty. My condolences to Suresh’s family. His family was… pic.twitter.com/KZ5fhqX9md

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) June 12, 2026

Janakiram Vasupalli, national president of the East Coast Mechanized Fishing Boat Owners Association of India, called on Washington to compensate the families of those killed. “Despite bilateral relations and the knowledge that Indians were on board, the manner in which the commercial ship was targeted must be condemned,” he said. “We are not an enemy country and we have trade relations with America. Mr. Vasupalli added that he is writing to the United Nations requesting fair compensation for the affected families.

Published – 12 Jun 2026 19:08 IST