India has said that one of its nationals was killed in an attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Black Sea last week. New Delhi added that a Mozambique-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters on Friday.
The Indian foreign ministry on Friday condemned the strike in Black Sea, saying that the MV Omorfi — which had three Indian nationals on board — was attacked on July 18 "while transiting the Black Sea, reportedly in Russian territorial waters".
"India unequivocally condemns such attacks targeting commercial shipping and placing the lives of innocent civilian crew members at risk," the ministry said in a statement.
"It is a matter of serious concern that the freedom of navigation and international commerce is facing increasing threats."
New Delhi on Thursday issued a security warning for ships heading into the Black Sea that are locally flagged or employ its seafarers, after four of its nationals were killed in a Russian attack on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine.
India summoned Russia's top envoy in New Delhi to protest the attack.
Tanker carrying 28 Indian crew targeted
Also on Friday, a Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters, the Indian embassy in Tehran said.
All Indian crew members are safe and the embassy is in contact with the authorities, it said in a statement posted on X.
The vessel, named Disha, was attacked by an unknown missile near the Strait of Hormuz while en route to the Gulf, the Forward Seamen's Union of India, a trade union representing Indian maritime workers, said on X.
Separately, Iran’s state broadcaster reported that a US missile strike on an LPG tanker approaching the Strait of Hormuz killed two crew members after the vessel was allegedly mistaken for carrying Iranian gas.
Citing an informed source, IRIB said the US military fired two missiles at the tanker on Friday afternoon as it was approaching the region from the Sea of Oman.
According to the report, the vessel was targeted because US forces believed it was transporting Iranian gas.
The report said two crew members were killed and the vessel’s engine room was damaged, leaving the tanker disabled.
The US military has not commented on the claims. It remained unclear whether Iran was referring to the same tanker mentioned by India.
Sixteen Indians have been killed or are missing in the Middle East since the US-Iran war began, Indian government sources have said.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, was the main transit route for around a fifth of global energy supplies before the conflict erupted in Iran.
Tensions have escalated since a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran collapsed in early July, reviving heavy exchanges of strikes and further disrupting shipping through the waterway.
India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to its shipping ministry.
