An Indian died from medical complications aboard the vessel MT ​Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port ‌in Oman, the Indian embassy in Muscat said late Saturday (June 13, 2026).

The Indian mission identified the deceased as Nishanth Uirthanathan, who was on board MT Celestial. It stays in close contact with Mr. Uirthanathan’s family.

“Efforts are underway to facilitate the earliest possible disembarkation and repatriation of his mortal remains,” the embassy said in a post on ‌social media.

India has more than 300,000 seafarers working across global shipping fleets, according ‌to government data. More than 18,000 Indian seafarers ‌are ⁠employed in West Asia, ⁠an official in the country’s shipping ministry said last week.

The death comes days after three Indian seafarers were killed in ​a U.S. strike ‌on a tanker off Oman, triggering criticism from the public and opposition parties.

Opposition parties have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the ‌issue with U.S. President Donald Trump ​on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit later this week.

And on ⁠Friday (June 12, 2026), India took the rare step of lodging a second protest with the U.S. over a ‌strike that took place more than three months into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Ministry of External Affairs said it had summoned the U.S. chargé d’affaires to convey “its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against ‌civilian shipping.”

The body of 35-year-old Nishanth Uirthanathan, who ​died on June 11, remained onboard for more than two days without proper refrigeration, the ⁠Forward Seamen’s Union of India said on social ⁠media on Saturday (June 13, 2026).

“Crew is using cold water bottles in a desperate attempt to slow ‌decomposition – a horrifying and health-risking situation,” the Union said, sharing a video it said ​was from the tanker.

(With inputs from Reuters, PTI)

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, describing the alleged action as “totally unacceptable”, while Tehran rejected the charge as “baseless”.

Three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday (June 10, 2026).

“Their (Iran’s) totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Mr. Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social on Friday (June 12, 2026).

In the same post, Mr. Trump also accused Iran of leaking the terms of the peace deal to the media that had nothing to do with the points under discussion.

Iran vehemently rejected Mr. Trump’s allegation.

“The U.S. president’s accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless,” the Iranian Embassy in India said in a social media post late Friday (June 12, 2026) night.

“It is an attempt to divert public attention from the brutal fact that the U.S. has attacked 3 Indian vessels in less than a week and killed 3 innocent Indian sailors. That’s pathetic!” it said.

Mr. Trump’s remarks came after India summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi to protest against U.S. attacks on commercial ships carrying Indian nationals near the Oman coast.

India has described the attacks on commercial vessels as “deeply worrisome” and it has strongly taken up the matter with the U.S.