The MEA advisory urges Indian seafarers to assess security risks before taking up employment in the Black Sea region

A cargo ship leaves a port in the Black Sea. File | Photo credit: Reuters

A day after another Indian-manned cargo ship was attacked in Ukraine’s Odesa port, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday (July 26, 2026) issued an advisory urging Indian seafarers to “carefully assess security risks” before accepting jobs on commercial ships operating “in and around the Black Sea and adjacent ships located in adjacent maritime areas,” citing growing maritime areas.

Also read | Indian Embassy in Ukraine ‘closely monitoring’ situation after vessel carrying four Indians hits Ukraine’s Odesa port; two safe, the fate of two awaited

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine had earlier said it was “closely monitoring” the situation after a missile struck the MV AGN Ragnar in a Black Sea port on Saturday (July 25, 2026). The ship employed four Indian sailors, two of whom have been found safe, while information on the other two is still awaited.

“Indian nationals intending to be employed on commercial vessels operating in or transiting a conflict-affected region are advised to carefully assess the prevailing security risks before accepting such assignments,” the MEA said in its advisory, explaining that “the security situation in and around the Black Sea and adjacent sea areas remains highly volatile due to the ongoing conflict. Commercial vessels operating in these waters or navigating through these waters face significant security risks.”

“Take precautions”

There has been an increase in the number of such incidents since April, resulting in the death of five Indian sailors, the ministry said.

The MEA urged Indian citizens to follow a set of precautionary measures such as obtaining “comprehensive information from employers/recruitment agencies and ship operators about the vessel’s intended route, ports of call, security arrangements, insurance coverage and emergency response procedures”. “Conditions of employment” should “meet applicable maritime standards and provide adequate provisions for medical care, evacuation, repatriation and compensation in case of emergency,” the ministry said.

Indian seafarers have been asked to follow all advisories issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, including one issued on July 23.

Search and rescue is underway

The warning came a day after the MV AGN Ragnar was hit in the port of Odesa. “There were four Indian nationals on board the vessel. According to the latest information, two are confirmed safe and information is awaited regarding the other two nationals. Search and rescue operations are underway. The embassy is in constant contact with the authorities concerned,” the Indian embassy in Kyiv said, without specifying who fired the projectile that hit the ship.

Earlier on July 19, MV Golden Leo, a Guinea Bissau-flagged ship, was also hit by projectiles, resulting in the death of ten sailors, four of whom were Indian nationals. This incident prompted the MEA to summon the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Embassy in India. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Manila on July 22, where he expressed “great concern over the safety of Indian sailors in the region”.

“Commercial shipment should not be attacked”

Subsequently, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is in contact with India on the issue. However, he said: “Our armed forces are attacking and will continue to attack those vessels that are involved in the transportation of ammunition, weapons and so on, for the purposes of the Kiev regime.”

Responding to this claim, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out that the ship was civilian in nature.

“According to the information provided to us by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration of our country, this particular ship Golden Leo, which as you know was sailing under the flag of Guinea-Bissau and on which we lost four of our nationals, was loading grain as cargo before leaving the port of Odesa and this happened on the 19th of July. We reiterate that Mr. Jaiswal should not attack the sea under any commercial circumstances.” briefing on July 24.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine has shared the following emergency contact details. Email: cons.kyiv@mea.gov.in or cons1.kyiv@mea.gov.in. Phone: Aji Kumar, SS (Consular) on +380933559958. The emergency contact number of Indian Embassy in Russia is +79652773414.

Published – 26 Jul 2026 20:52 IST