India sharply criticized Iran on Tuesday and called for de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after an attack on an oil tanker killed an Indian sailor and injured dozens more, as the United States and Iran reignited their war and fight for control of the waterway.
The Iranian military said it had struck two U.A.E.-registered tankers overnight that were transiting the strait near Oman rather than via a route in Iranian-controlled waters. Iran has warned commercial vessels to only use routes it has approved.
The Indian foreign ministry said in a statement that 30 of the 46 crew members on the two vessels were Indian nationals. One Indian sailor was killed and 10 others were injured, two seriously.
The deadly attack has once again highlighted the vulnerability of Indian sailors, who account for about 12 percent of the global commercial shipping work force, according to the Indian government.
Indian sailors have suffered a disproportionate share of the violence on the seas during the war between the United States and Iran. Since Iran effectively blockaded the waterway more than four months ago, many civilian mariners have been stranded on vessels waiting to pass through the strait.
An Indian crew member of a Cyprus-flagged ship has been missing since it was hit by an Iranian strike over the weekend. Last month, the Indian government said that a U.S. military strike on a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Oman had killed three Indian sailors, and lodged an official protest with the United States.
The Indian foreign ministry said it had lodged a “strong protest” with Iran’s deputy ambassador in New Delhi after the deadly attack overnight. It also reiterated its call for “the targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region” to stop, saying that “free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through international waterways in the region” be allowed as required under international law.
Shipping through the strait, which had rebounded somewhat after a truce was reached last month, has plummeted again in recent days, as the United States and Iran have renewed their attacks. On Monday, only 10 ships passed through the waterway, according to Kpler, a maritime data tracking firm. That was the lowest in a month and well below the more than 130 ships than transited daily before the war.
The Iran war has posed a severe risk to the wider Indian economy. The country is one of the world’s biggest importers of oil and gas and has been badly hit by soaring energy prices and supply chain disruptions, which have caused shortages of cooking gas and led some Indian industry to pause operations.
