- Indian seafarers face escalating threats in global conflict zones.
- Multiple Indian sailors killed or missing in Black Sea, Strait of Hormuz.
- India protests attacks; seafarers demand accountability and protection.
New Delhi/Bareilly, Ajeet Kumar: India is the world's third-largest supplier of seafarers, after the Philippines and China. Indian sailors make up around 12 per cent of the global merchant shipping workforce, with the majority serving on foreign-flagged vessels.
According to the Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA), around 740,000 seafarers are registered in its database, although many are not actively sailing. The latest data released by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on July 24 shows that 323,429 Indian seafarers are currently active and working aboard merchant vessels worldwide.
Desperate calls by Indian seafarers
As maritime security threats escalate, many Indian seafarers have been turning to the government for help, often through social media. Following attacks on commercial vessels, sailors have shared desperate videos and images from burning ships, appealing for urgent assistance.
Knock knock#IMO | #UN | #Government_of_India | Honourable Parliamentarians
— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) July 27, 2026
Withdraw the resolution that declared seafarers as “Key Workers” if you will not protect their lives. this time #Navigation_bridge
Brother Chandra Ram Dubey and Brother Deepak Kumar Gupta are missing… pic.twitter.com/Agt55J5YHR
Initially, the risks were largely confined to the Strait of Hormuz, amid the conflict involving Iran and the United States. However, the threat has now expanded beyond the Gulf, with commercial vessels in the Black Sea also coming under attack, exposing Indian seafarers to growing dangers across multiple conflict zones.
As of writing this article, at least eight Indian seafarers have lost their lives in attacks on commercial vessels this year, with fatalities reported in both the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, highlighting the growing risks faced by India's merchant marine workforce.
Grim picture of the global conflict
A review of recent social media posts by the Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI), a trade union established in 1954 to safeguard the rights, safety and welfare of Indian seafarers, highlights the growing dangers faced by Indian sailors. The posts paint a grim picture of seafarers increasingly caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflicts they have no role in, exposing them to life-threatening risks while simply carrying out their duties.
Manoj Yadav, General Secretary, FSUI, says, "Since the war began on February 28, and including the Black Sea incident, around 17 Indians have lost their lives so far according to the information available to us@dgshipping_IN @shipmin_india @IMOHQ @ITFglobalunion @ians_india pic.twitter.com/jY87mHWBR0
— Manoj Yadav l मनोज यादव (@FsuiManoj) July 25, 2026
According to the latest post of FSUI, it urged the Government of India to withdraw the resolution that declared seafarers as “ Key Workers”, “ if you will not protect their lives”. The words described how grave the situation has turned into.
“Chandra Ram Dubey and Brother Deepak Kumar Gupta are missing from MV AGN Ragnar after a Russian drone attack. The vessel, with 9 crew including 4 Indians, was hit while departing Ukrainian waters with a pilot on board,” it wrote on X.
“ Seafarers have always believed they work on the free seas — beyond man-made boundaries, in a safer zone. Today that belief is being shattered,” added the FSUI.
What measures did the government of India take?
India on Monday summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk and lodged a strong protest over the killing of an Indian seafarer in an attack on a merchant vessel in the Black Sea last week.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it conveyed to the envoy New Delhi's serious concern over the incident and condemned such attacks on commercial shipping in the strongest terms.
The vessel MV Omorfi reportedly came under Ukrainian drone strikes amid fresh hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
ALSO READ: After Russia, India Summons Ukrainian Ambassador Over Killing Of Two Indians In Odesa Strike | WATCH
A similar protest was lodged with the Russian envoy last week. According to MEA, it expressed "grave concerns" after a missile strike killed four Indians on a Black Sea cargo ship that was leaving a Ukrainian port.
"We demand accountability, not just recognition on paper"
However, the seafarers' community is still worried about their jobs. “Killing of foreign nationals has become a tool to grab global attention, while the machinery of statements and advisories continues without real action,” as per the FSUI statement.
“When every institution remains restricted to words, seafarers themselves must now respond. We demand justice. We demand accountability. We demand protection — not just recognition on paper,” it added.
UP sailor's family clueless about their 22-year-old son
According to a report by news agency PTI, a 22-year-old seafarer, Deepak Kumar Gupta, who went missing after a merchant vessel came under attack near Ukraine, belongs to Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly.
According to family members on Monday, Gupta, a resident of Bharataul village in Bareilly district, was working as a crew member aboard the merchant vessel MV AGN Ragnar.
His family said the shipping company informed them over the phone on Sunday night that Deepak was missing following the attack on the vessel. Initial information suggests there were four Indian crew members on board. Two of them are safe, while two others, including Deepak, are still untraceable, village head Pravesh Devi said.
Deepak's elder brother, Sanjeev Gupta, left for the company's office in Delhi on Monday to gather more information and coordinate with officials regarding the incident.
Following the incident, Devi said she and another local representative, Reetram Patel, spoke to Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, a native of Bareilly, and apprised him of the matter.
They said the governor assured them that he would speak to the concerned authorities and extend all possible assistance to ensure Deepak's safe return.
"No concrete answer"
Deepak's family originally hails from Siwan district in Bihar but has been residing in Bharataul village in Bareilly for several years. His father, Uddhav Kumar Gupta, a former naib subedar in the Indian Army and currently serving as a constable with the Siwan Police, said, "The company informed us about the incident last evening, but no concrete information about our son's whereabouts was available so far." "The family is in constant touch with the company and the authorities, and is hoping for Deepak's safe return," the seafarer's father added.
(With inputs from agency)