MEA advisory urges Indian seafarers to assess security risks before taking jobs in Black Sea region

A day after another cargo vessel carrying Indian crew was attacked in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Sunday (July 26, 2026) issued an advisory urging Indian seafarers to “carefully assess security risks” before accepting jobs on commercial ships that operate “in and around the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas”, citing increasing drone and missile attacks on ships in the region.

Also read | Indian embassy in Ukraine ‘closely monitoring’ situation after vessel with four Indians struck at Ukraine’s Odessa port; two safe, fate of two awaited

Earlier, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said that it was “closely monitoring” the situation after a projectile hit the MV AGN Ragnar in the Black Sea port on Saturday (July 25, 2026). The ship employed four Indian seafarers, of whom two have been found to be safe while information about the other two is still awaited.

“Indian nationals intending to undertake employment on commercial vessels operating in or transiting the conflict-affected region are advised to carefully assess the prevailing security risks before accepting such assignments,” the MEA said in its advisory, explaining that “the security situation in and around the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas remains highly volatile due to the ongoing conflict. Commercial vessels operating in or transiting these waters are facing significant security risks, including missile and drone attacks.” 

‘Take precautions’

There has been an increase in the number of such incidents since April, resulting in the deaths of five Indian seafarers, the Ministry said.

The MEA urged Indian citizens to follow a set of precautions, such as obtaining “comprehensive information from employers/recruitment agencies and ship operators regarding the vessel’s intended route, ports of call, security arrangements, insurance coverage, and emergency response procedures”. The “terms of employment” should “comply with applicable maritime standards and provide adequate provisions for medical care, evacuation, repatriation and compensation in the event of an emergency,” the Ministry said.

Indian seafarers were urged to follow all the advisories issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration, including one issued on July 23.

Search and rescue underway

The advisory came a day after the MV AGN Ragnar was struck at the port of Odesa. “Four Indian nationals were on board the vessel. As per the latest information, two have been confirmed safe, and information is awaited regarding the other two nationals. Search and rescue operations are underway. The Embassy is in constant touch with the concerned authorities,” the Indian Embassy in Kyiv said, without specifying who had fired the projectile that hit the ship. 

Earlier on July 19, the MV Golden Leo, a Guinea Bissau-flagged ship was also hit by projectiles that led to the deaths of ten seafarers, of whom four were Indian citizens. This incident had prompted the MEA to summon the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Embassy in India. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the East Asia summit in Manila on July 22, where he expressed “strong concern regarding the safety of Indian seafarers in the region”.

‘Commercial shipping should not be attacked’

Subsequently, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was in touch with India over the matter. However, he said, “Our armed forces are striking and will continue to strike those vessels that are involved in transporting ammunition, weapons and so on, for the purposes of the Kiev regime.”

Responding to this assertion, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal pointed out that the ship was civilian in nature.

“As per the information that was made available to us by the Directorate General of Maritime Administration of our country, this particular ship, Golden Leo, which as you know was Guinea-Bissau-flagged and on which we lost four of our nationals, it loaded grain as cargo prior to leaving the port of Odesa and this happened on 19th July. We once again reiterate that commercial shipping and seafarers should not be attacked under any circumstances,” Mr. Jaiswal said during a press briefing on July 24.

The Indian Embassy in Ukraine has shared the following details for emergency contacts. Email: cons.kyiv@mea.gov.in or cons1.kyiv@mea.gov.in. Phone: Aji Kumar, SS (Consular) at +380933559958. The emergency contact number for the Indian Embassy in Russia is +79652773414.