‘All crew members safe’: MEA refutes reports of another Indian-crewed vessel targeted near Oman | World

The government on Saturday dismissed reports of another Indian-crewed vessel being targeted near the coast of Oman, calling them ‘false’.

Several unverified reports claimed that MT Liaki Freedom, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil and chemical tanker, was targeted in the Oman Gulf on Friday night after it stopped responding on VHF (very high frequency). 

The reports claimed that the tanker had several Indian onboard, and casualties were feared. However, the Indian government has refuted the reports, saying all crew members are safe.

“We have spoken with the Master of the vessel Liaki Freedom, who has confirmed that all crew members are safe and that the reported information is false,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

The Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI), which represents sailors globally, had also confirmed the attack earlier, but later rejected it and said that the crew of MT Liaki Freedom has confirmed that the tanker was not targeted.

Attack on three Indian-crewed vessels and New Delhi’s strong protest

As of now, three Indian-crewed vessels have been targeted near Oman’s coast. On June 8, MT Marivex was targeted. The vessel was a Palau-flagged tanker with 24 Indian crew members, who were safely evacuated by Oman’s authorities. 

On June 10, MT Settebello, another Palau-flagged tanker with 24 Indian crew members, was targeted. This attack resulted in the deaths of three sailors. And on June 11, MT Jalveer, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker with 20 Indian sailors, was targeted but the crew was safely evacuated.

India has lodged strong protest over the attacks and has summoned US Deputy Chief of Mission Jason Meeks twice since then. In a statement, India has said that such attacks are completely unacceptable and shipping lanes must remain free and open.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar also spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on late Friday night, lodging protests over the attacks. “Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified,” Jaishankar said on X on early Saturday.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the attack, but Tehran rejected the charges, calling them ‘simply baseless’ and an attempt to ‘divert attention’.

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