New Delhi. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Saturday that Panama flagged crude oil tanker MT Gem No. 2 was attacked by drones. The attack took place on Friday at a sea anchorage near Sharjah. All 22 Indian sailors on board the ship are safe.
Sonowal shared a post on social media platform X. In this he said that the situation is being continuously monitored. Authorities are in touch with the company managing the ship to ensure the safety and care of the Indian sailors.
Sonowal said, on October 9, Panama-flagged crude oil tanker MT Gem No. 2 was attacked by drones at the anchorage near Sharjah. There were 22 Indian citizens on board the ship. I am relieved to say that all our 22 Indian sailors on board the ship are said to be completely safe. He further said, we are continuously monitoring the situation. The company managing the ship is in touch to ensure the safety and care of its sailors.
Where did the incident happen?
According to Marine Traffic, this anchorage near Sharjah is located in the Arabian Gulf in the Dubai region of the United Arab Emirates. The incident comes amid concerns over continued attacks on merchant ships and sailors in the Gulf region and the Black Sea. These incidents have led India and other countries to seek stronger international cooperation for maritime trade and the safety of ships' crews.
On Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs informed about the objectives of the newly formed 'Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers' related to the safety of ships and seafarers. The aim of this initiative is to bring together stakeholders related to the maritime sector. Its purpose is to strengthen international cooperation. Also, the safety of seafarers and merchant ships has to be made a major issue in global discussions.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the objective of this group is to create coordination between countries involved in merchant shipping and maritime industry. This also includes those countries where a large number of people work as sailors.
The idea is to bring all of them together, Jaiswal said. This will enable us to bring the issues of safety of seafarers and safety of merchant ships to the center of global debate and discussion. We will also be able to increase international cooperation. This will help ensure that merchant shipping is not affected, ships are not attacked and seafarers remain safe.