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Washington: India\u2019s Modi-led government is facing growing criticism after three Indian seafarers were killed and 21 others rescued following a US military strike on the tanker MT Settebello, bringing renewed attention to an India-linked network of offshore shipping operations, foreign vessel registrations and sanctions-exposed maritime activities in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
The United States said the vessel was struck after it repeatedly failed to comply with instructions issued under Washington\u2019s blockade of Iranian ports and Strait of Hormuz. 21 Indian crew members were rescued, while three were killed. Two other foreign-flagged vessels carrying Indian crews, the MT Marivex<\/em> and MT Jalveer<\/em>, were also targeted during the same week.<\/p>\n New Delhi formally protested the attacks and summoned a senior American diplomat. However, the Indian government\u2019s carefully worded response focused primarily on the nationality of the seafarers while emphasising that the vessels were neither Indian-flagged nor officially Indian-owned.<\/p>\n Although that distinction may be legally significant, maritime analysts and government critics argue that it raises more questions than it answers.<\/p>\n They have questioned why so many Indian sailors were operating aboard vessels allegedly attempting to circumvent a US blockade. They have also sought clarity over who beneficially owned, managed, financed or chartered the ships, why the vessels were registered under the flags of small states such as Palau and Guinea-Bissau, and what due diligence was conducted before Indian citizens were deployed aboard ships exposed to sanctions and military action.<\/p>\n Flags of convenience are common across the global shipping industry. They allow shipowners to register vessels in jurisdictions offering lower operating costs, lighter taxation and less demanding regulation. Although the practice is legal, maritime experts note that it can also obscure complicated chains of ownership and management, making accountability difficult when vessels are abandoned, sanctioned or attacked.<\/p>\n According to published reports, the Marivex<\/em> was linked to a Panama-based shipping company previously sanctioned by the United States for its alleged involvement in Iran\u2019s shadow-fleet trade. US authorities have also repeatedly sanctioned India-based or India-connected ship managers accused of facilitating Iranian petroleum exports through foreign companies, renamed tankers and frequently altered vessel registrations.<\/p>\n These documented cases do not establish that the Indian state directed the vessels or that every India-linked company was involved in illicit activity. They do, however, point to a growing sanctions-compliance problem surrounding shipping businesses connected to Indian nationals and corporate entities.<\/p>\n Analysts have also raised questions about the increasing concentration of India\u2019s port infrastructure. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone is India\u2019s largest private port operator, handling approximately 27 percent of the country\u2019s total cargo and 45.5 percent of its container cargo during the 2024\u201325 financial year. The figures demonstrate the group\u2019s substantial position in India\u2019s maritime economy, although they do not support claims that it controls 60 percent of all Indian ports.<\/p>\n Mundra Port, operated by Adani, has nevertheless repeatedly appeared in controversies involving prohibited cargo. In September 2021, Indian authorities seized nearly three tonnes of heroin from two containers at the port, while other seizures followed. Investigators did not establish that Adani Ports owned the drugs, and the company maintained that port operators merely provide infrastructure while government agencies remain responsible for cargo inspection and law enforcement.<\/p>\n Even so, critics argue that the combination of concentrated control over strategic port infrastructure, offshore shipping structures, sanctioned vessels and foreign-flag registrations warrants stronger public, regulatory and parliamentary scrutiny.<\/p>\n There is currently no publicly verified evidence proving that India\u2019s external intelligence agency, R&AW, operated the three vessels or used them for espionage or sabotage. Such allegations would require documentary evidence, financial records, intelligence disclosures or credible official findings. Security analysts nevertheless observe that intelligence agencies worldwide have historically exploited commercial routes, front companies and transport networks, making transparency over beneficial ownership a legitimate national-security concern.<\/p>\n The US strikes represent an alarming escalation from financial sanctions to kinetic enforcement. Strategic observers believe Washington appears determined to demonstrate that sanctions evasion in the Gulf may now carry physical consequences, even when commercial crews are placed directly in danger.<\/p>\n For Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government, the political dilemma is acute. Critics argue that a forceful confrontation with Washington could bring uncomfortable details concerning vessel ownership, management structures and sanctions compliance into greater public focus. Continued restraint or silence, however, risks creating the impression that the lives of Indian citizens are being treated as secondary to diplomatic caution.<\/p>\n For maritime analysts and opposition voices, the central question is therefore no longer limited to why the United States attacked the vessels. It is why Indian seafarers were placed aboard high-risk ships operating within a rapidly militarising shadow economy, what safeguards were available to protect them, and who ultimately benefited from sending them into such dangerous waters.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Washington: India\u2019s Modi-led government is facing growing criticism after three Indian seafarers were killed and 21 others rescued following a US military strike on the tanker MT Settebello, bringing renewed attention to an India-linked network of offshore shipping operations, foreign vessel registrations and sanctions-exposed maritime activities in the Gulf. The United States said the vessel …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":202878,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-202875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/06\/image_2026-06-12_204402323.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202875"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202885,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202875\/revisions\/202885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}