The Indian Embassy in Tehran on Saturday urged the Iranian authorities to allow consular access to the 16 Indian crew members detained on the MT Valiant Roar. Despite repeated requests since December 14, access has not been granted.
“Around mid-December 2025, the mission was informed of the detention of the vessel MT Valiant Roar by the Iranian authorities with 16 Indian crew members on board. The Indian Consulate in Bandar Abbas immediately (December 14) wrote to the Government of Iran requesting consular access to the crew,” the Indian embassy said in a statement.
“The request for consular access has since been repeated many times, both through diplomatic correspondence and through personal meetings in Bandar Abbas and Tehran, including at the ambassadorial level. Iranian authorities have also been requested to allow the crew to communicate with their families in India,” the statement added.
The embassy is working to ensure the welfare of the crew: supplying food, water and fuel with the help of the Iranian Navy, as well as engaging a ship-owning company based in the UAE for legal representation and security. The consulate in Dubai is also pressing the company for support.
“The consulate also contacted the UAE-based company that owns the ship on December 15 and was subsequently in contact with the company’s Iranian agents to urge the company to provide food, water and fuel for the ship, as well as to provide legal representation for the crew in Iranian courts. After the ship was informed that the Iranian Navy’s food and emergency supplies had run out of food and water supplies, did iran mission arrange early aid jan The Indian consulate in Dubai is also pressing the company that owns the ship to provide legal representation and regular supply of supplies to the ship,” the statement added.
The matter is expected to be the subject of legal proceedings in Iran. However, the Mission and Consulate continue to press the Iranian authorities to grant timely consular access to the crew and ensure the speedy completion of the judicial process.
The embassy’s statement comes shortly after the family of third engineer Ketan Mehta appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save their son on Thursday.
Mehta was one of the 16 Indian crew members of the vessel MT Valiant Roar who were taken into custody by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
MT Valiant Roar was intercepted by the IRGC on 8 December 2025 in international waters near the port of Dibba in the United Arab Emirates. Iranian authorities accused the vessel of smuggling 6,000 MT of fuel.