October 12: All 22 Indian crew members of the crude oil tanker MT Gem No. 2 were rescued after an incident off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, the Consulate General of India in Dubai said. “All crew members have been rescued and are safe,” the consulate posted on X, adding that it was in touch with UAE authorities, Siasat and The Hans India reported. The cause has not been made public. The rescue came at the end of a week in which, by our count, at least eight incidents involving ships were reported in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a strike on October 6 that injured 11 Indian sailors.
Key highlights
- The consulate described the Gem No. 2 incident as an accident and gave no further details. The vessel’s flag and owner were not reported.
- Separately, the UAE National Guard said it rescued 22 people, all Asian nationals, from an oil tanker in the Gulf after a fire broke out on board, The National reported. It is not confirmed whether this was the same vessel.
- On Saturday night, a tanker leaving the Strait of Hormuz was hit by an unknown projectile and caught fire, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) said; its crew was safe. A US fighter jet also struck a ship that was trying to breach the US blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command said.
- About a dozen Indian seafarers have been killed and more than 20 injured in attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz since the war began in February, The Wire reported.
- India’s shipping regulator told owners and recruiters in July not to deploy Indian crew on ships transiting the strait, but seafarers’ unions say the order cannot be enforced on foreign-flagged ships.
Eight days at sea: incidents reported from October 4 to 11
| Date | What was reported | Indian crew involved? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 4 | An LPG tanker entering the Strait of Hormuz hit by an unknown projectile | Not reported | UKMTO, via Iran International |
| October 4 | A crude oil tanker struck by projectiles | Not reported | UKMTO, via Iran International |
| October 4 | Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threaten an inbound tanker north of Khasab, Oman; it turns back | Not reported | UKMTO, via Iran International |
| October 6 | MT On Peace, Panama-flagged, hit by a projectile off Oman; 12 crew injured | Yes: 17 of 19 crew Indian, 11 injured | The Wire |
| October 9 | Revolutionary Guards say they hit the LPG carrier NV Sunshine on an “illegal” route, causing an engine-room fire | Not reported | IRGC claim, via The Hans India |
| October 10 | Revolutionary Guards say a supertanker hit naval mines on an “unauthorised” route and caught fire (not independently verified) | Not reported | IRGC claim, via The National |
| October 10, 11:20 pm UAE time | Outbound tanker in the Strait of Hormuz hit by an unknown projectile, causing a fire; crew safe | Not reported | UKMTO, via The National |
| October 10 | US jet strikes the stern of the Panama-flagged Ocean Molika, also called Arika Sun, after it ignored warnings while leaving an Iranian port; no crew harmed | Not reported | US Central Command, via The National |
| October 11 | UKMTO reports an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman | Not reported | UKMTO, via The National and The Hans India |
| October 11 | MT Gem No. 2 incident off Ras Al Khaimah; all crew rescued | Yes: all 22 crew Indian | Consulate General of India, Dubai |
We count at least eight separate incidents rather than ten because two of the October 10 reports, the Revolutionary Guards’ mine claim and UKMTO’s projectile report, may describe the same tanker, and the UAE National Guard rescue may be the Gem No. 2 case. None of the incidents above has been officially linked to the Gem No. 2.
Indian seafarers hit in 2026: the cases we could trace
| Date | Ship | What happened to Indian crew | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1 | Skylight | Two crew killed; news reports cited two Indian sailors missing who later died | Wikipedia list of ships attacked, citing news reports |
| March 12 | Safesea Vishnu | One Indian killed in Iraqi waters | Wikipedia list, citing news reports |
| May 13 | Haji Ali (Indian dhow) | Sank after a drone or missile strike; all 14 Indian crew rescued by Oman’s coast guard | Wikipedia list, citing news reports |
| June 8 | Marivex | All-Indian crew of 24 rescued after a US strike | Wikipedia list, citing news reports |
| June 9 | Settebello | Three Indian sailors killed; 21 of 24 Indian crew rescued after a US strike | Wikipedia list, citing news reports |
| July 12 | GFS Galaxy | One killed, reported to be an engineer from Pune | Wikipedia list, citing news reports |
| September 23 | Cape Dao | Suraj Yadav, a wiper from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, killed | The Week |
| October 6 | On Peace | 11 Indian crew injured | The Wire |
| October 11 | Gem No. 2 | All 22 Indian crew rescued | Consulate General of India, Dubai |
The deaths we could match to specific ships add up to eight. The Wire puts the total at about a dozen, so our list is incomplete, and some early reports may be revised. India has more than 310,000 seafarers on merchant ships and is the world’s second-largest supplier of sailors, according to BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping, as cited by Insurance Journal.
What India has done
| When | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 15 | The Directorate General of Shipping tells ship owners, managers and recruitment agencies not to deploy Indian crew on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz “until further orders” | Insurance Journal |
| July | Seafarers’ union officials say the order cannot be enforced because most ships carrying Indian crew are foreign-owned and foreign-flagged | Insurance Journal |
| October 6 | The Ministry of External Affairs condemns the On Peace attack and calls for an immediate halt to attacks on shipping | The Wire |
| October 11 | The Dubai consulate says it is in touch with UAE authorities and assisting the Gem No. 2 crew | Siasat; The Hans India |
What to watch
- The cause of the Gem No. 2 incident, and whether it is linked to the attacks near Hormuz.
- Any new advisory from the Directorate General of Shipping, and whether it is enforced on foreign-flagged ships.
- The US blockade of Iranian ports, which US forces say has disabled four ships and turned back 135 since it resumed on July 14.
- Attacks on ships near Hormuz, where incidents have been reported on most days of the past week.
What it means
Sunday’s rescue is good news, but it came in a week when incidents near Hormuz were reported on most days. Indian sailors serve on many of the ships in the Gulf, as the all-Indian crew of the Gem No. 2 and the mostly Indian crew of the On Peace show, so strikes there often put Indian lives at risk. The government’s tools are limited: an order to keep Indian crew away from the strait cannot be enforced on ships flagged elsewhere, and many seafarers need the work. Until the fighting around Hormuz stops, the safety of Indian crews depends less on New Delhi’s rules than on whether the ships they sail are targeted.
Sources
- Siasat: 22 Indian crew members rescued off UAE coast: Dubai Consulate
- The Hans India: 22 Indian crew members rescued from a vessel off Ras Al Khaimah coast
- The Daily Guardian (Reuters): All 22 Indian crew rescued and safe after incident off UAE coast, consulate says
- The National: US warplane knocks out ship breaching Iran blockade as tankers burn in Hormuz
- Iran International: Two tankers struck, third threatened by IRGC in Hormuz, UKMTO says
- The Wire: Eleven Indians injured after ‘projectile’ hits vessel transiting Strait of Hormuz
- The Week: Indian among 2 seafarers killed in Hormuz ship attack
- Insurance Journal: India bars seafarers from Hormuz voyages after attacks
- Wikipedia: List of ships attacked during the 2026 Iran war
The International Desk covers world and Asian affairs, diplomacy and conflict, with a focus on what they mean for India. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
