NEW DELHI, Jun 11: India on Thursday said three merchant ships with Indian crew members came under attack from American military off the coast of Oman in the last four days resulting in the death of three nationals and it has strongly taken up the matter with the US.
It was the first public acknowledgement of US Navy targeting ships with Indian crew.
A Palau-flagged oil tanker, Marivex, carrying 24 Indian seafarers, was disabled by US forces on June 8. All crew members were safely rescued. On June 10, US struck another Palau-flagged tanker Settebello, killing three out of the 24 Indian sailors on board.
Following the attack on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)summoned US Charge d'Affaires Jason Meeks and he was handed a demarche or diplomatic note of protest.
"We attach high importance to the welfare and well-being of our seafaring community. When this particular attack on the ship MT Settebello occurred, we lodged a strong protest with the American side," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at an inter-ministerial media briefing.
"We summoned the US Charge d'Affaires and he was conveyed our deepest concern over the ongoing incidents of attacks. We also registered our strong protest," he said.
