India says 22 citizens on two hijacked vessels off Yemen, Somalia
- Says two foreign-flagged vessels are involved. One had 16 Indian nationals on board, while the other had six
India confirmed 22 of its sailors are safe after two foreign-flagged vessels were seized by gunmen in the Gulf of Aden this week, prompting diplomatic efforts.
- Seizure of two foreign-flagged vessels with Indian sailors.
- India's diplomatic efforts to ensure the safety of its nationals.
- The Seamull tanker's prior US sanctions for deceptive shipping.
NEW DELHI: New Delhi said 22 Indian sailors are among seafarers onboard two ships seized by gunmen in the Gulf of Aden this week, India’s foreign ministry said Friday.
The Seamull tanker, also known as SIBU 1, with 16 Indian sailors, issued a distress call in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday. Gunmen boarded the vessel and forced it to change course towards Somalia.
“Two foreign-flagged vessels were involved. One had 16 Indian nationals on board, while the other had six,” ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.
“We are in touch with authorities, all of them are reportedly safe.”
India did not give details about crew members from other nations.
The United States sanctioned the Seamull tanker in December last year as one of the vessels in Iran’s “shadow fleet” accused of exporting Iranian oil using deceptive shipping practices.
On Monday, the Cameroon-flagged cargo ship, Lutuf, with six Indians, was also hijacked by eight gunmen, who launched the attack from a ship they seized in April, the MV Sward.
Piracy was rampant off the coast of Somalia in the 2000s and peaked in 2011 before being curbed by international naval deployments and new security measures for commercial shipping.
India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to its shipping ministry.
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