India has ordered shipowners, ship managers and crewing agencies to stop assigning Indian seafarers to vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed hostilities in the region.
The directive, issued by the Directorate General of Shipping on July 16, bans the deployment of Indian nationals on Hormuz voyages until further notice. The regulator said worsening regional security and growing risks to commercial shipping prompted the decision.
The order comes after a series of missile and drone attacks on merchant vessels. Two Indian seafarers have been killed in the past three days, while several others were injured in separate incidents. The latest casualties occurred aboard tankers operating along the southern transit route through Omani waters.
India also instructed masters and ship operators already trading in the region to remain on high alert, monitor navigational warnings and regularly assess the security situation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters.
The move could affect global crewing. India is the world’s third-largest supplier of seafarers, with more than 300,000 officers and ratings serving on international merchant ships. A prolonged ban could make crew changes more difficult, especially for operators that rely heavily on Indian crews.
The directive does not affect the thousands of Indian seafarers already working west of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, more than 15,000 remain in the region, where ongoing hostilities continue to disrupt crew changes and raise safety concerns.
