British maritime security group Ambrey “assessed” that the incident “was likely the result of U.S. operations to blockade Iranian ports. File picture from vesseltracker.com
Three Indians are “reportedly missing” after an attack on oil tanker Settebello, off the coast of Oman, on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), the External Affairs Ministry said.
Twenty-one Indian seafarers were rescued from the vessel that was hit by U.S. “precision munitions”. The U.S. Central Command said the ship “violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.”
“U.S. Central Command (Centcom) disabled Palau-flagged M/T Settebello as it transited the Gulf of Oman. A U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces,” it posted on X, adding a video of the strike.
India summoned the U.S. Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Jason Meeks and lodged a ‘strong protest’ after the attack.
The attack comes two days after U.S. forces hit oil tanker Marivex, off Oman, from which 24 Indian sailors were rescued.
West Asia war: Follow LIVE updates on June 10, 2026
Condemning Wednesday’s incident, the Ministry said, “Our Embassy in Oman is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities in the ongoing Search and Rescue operation.”
Maritime intelligence website Lloyd’s List said that the “tanker was one of many vessels waiting off Duqm (Oman) recently, reportedly held by the U.S. Navy.”
Earlier, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations sent out an alert saying: “UKMTO has received a report of an incident 20NM northeast of Sohar, Oman. Local authorities have reported a tanker has experienced a fire in their engine room and are on the scene assisting with the evacuation of the crew. The vessel is reporting one casualty and two crew members missing. No environment impact reported. Authorities continue investigating.”
The government has not confirmed any death..
‘Missile strike’
Reports quoted British maritime security company Vanguard Tech as saying that the ship had “transmitted a distress call stating that its engine room had been struck by a missile”.
The Forward Seamen Union of India posted on X, “24 Indian with 4 foreign Nationals again on MT Settebello? Again U.S.?”
The union has not been able to contact the seafarers, an office-bearer said.
The Ministry’s statement flagged the “continuing incidents of attacks on shipping in the region” as “deeply worrisome and a direct result of the ongoing conflict in the region.”
“The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region in keeping with international law must be restored at the earliest,” it said.
Ship had been to China
Settebello is a sanctioned vessel according to the blacklist of TankerTrackers.com. Tracker websites showed that the ship had been to China twice, in March and April. It had discharged cargo at Lianyungang port from April 27 to May 3 and had set sail from Singapore on May 12.
Published – June 10, 2026 09:15 pm IST
