NEW DELHI - In an unparalleled streak of maritime misfortune, India has now achieved the dubious distinction of having its vessels attacked by both the United States and Iran within the same week. While the Indian Navy remains preoccupied tracking the newly commissioned PNS Hangor - which has already safely arrived in Pakistani waters - Indian sailors continue to pay the price for New Delhi's foreign policy failures.
The past week has seen two Indian-crewed vessels targeted by US forces in the Gulf of Oman, with the attack on MT Settebello resulting in the first confirmed deaths of Indian sailors at American hands since the blockade began.
On June 10, 2026, the US military struck the Palau-flagged oil tanker MT Settebello near the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel had been attempting to transport oil from Iran in violation of the US naval blockade. A precision munition fired from a US aircraft hit the ship's engine room - killing three Indian crew members: Deck Cadet Aditya Sharma, Engine Fitter Shivanand Chaurasia, and Chief Engineer Patnala Suresh.
According to US Central Command, the crew "repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces" before the strike was ordered.
A day earlier, on June 8, the MT Marivex, another Palau-flagged oil tanker with 24 Indian crew members, was struck by US forces in the same waters. All 24 crew members were rescued by Omani authorities, not the Indian Navy.
This means India has now had its ships bombed by both US and Iranian forces within a matter of weeks. In April, two Indian-flagged vessels, the Sunmar Pioneer and Sanmar Herald, came under direct fire from Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats, suffering bullet damage and being forced to turn back - with India reduced to summoning the Iranian ambassador to protest.
But when American bombs killed Indian sailors? The Indian government's response was starkly different. New Delhi summoned US Deputy Chief of Mission Jason Meeks to lodge a "strong protest," but the tone was measured.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned the "targeting of commercial shipping" and demanded that "free and unimpeded navigation... must be restored."
What was notably missing was any direct naming of the United States as the attacker - despite US Central Command's open admission of the strike. There were no accusations of "state terrorism." No social media campaigns. No demands for apology or compensation.
The Indian Navy, for its part, was nowhere near the scene. The crew of the MT Settebello had to be rescued by Omani authorities. The Indian Navy's "force projection" in the Gulf has proven unable to prevent attacks - or even rescue its own citizens afterward.
As Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the Forward Seamen's Union of India, told The Economic Times: "I refuse to believe that the US lacked information regarding the nationalities of the people on board those ships." He suggested detaining the vessels as a "viable alternative" to lethal force.
The Indian government, however, did not ask why a "strategic partner" would bomb a ship with full knowledge of the crew's nationality.
While Indian sailors were being bombed and killed in the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Navy's attention - and its most advanced maritime surveillance assets - were focused elsewhere.
The Pakistan Navy's newest submarine, PNS/M Hangor, the first of eight Hangor-class submarines built under a $4-5 billion deal with China, was commissioned on April 30, 2026, in Sanya, China, in a ceremony attended by President Asif Ali Zardari. In early May, the submarine began its maiden voyage to Pakistan.
Since then, the Indian Navy has been throwing everything it has at tracking the vessel. Indian P-8I Neptune long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft have been maintaining an active presence around Pakistan's coastline over the past several weeks, according to open-source tracking observations.
The P-8I - the most capable anti-submarine warfare platform in the Indian arsenal - is equipped with surface-search radars, electronic intelligence systems, magnetic anomaly detection, sonobuoys, and anti-submarine weapons. It has been hunting for PNS Hangor across the northern Arabian Sea.
But the submarine has already arrived in Pakistan.
According to the National Maritime Foundation, PNS Hangor's first port of call on her maiden passage was at the Kota Kinabalu Naval Base in Sabah, Malaysia, from May 8 to 11. She then made her way across the Indian Ocean. By all indications, PNS Hangor is now in Pakistani waters.
If the Indian Navy's high-tech P-8I fleet, reportedly "monitoring" PNS Hangor's voyage, could not locate or track the submarine - or prevent it from reaching home - then what exactly is the Indian Navy doing in the Gulf of Oman? And why are Indian sailors dying while their navy is preoccupied chasing a submarine that was never in danger in the first place?
The Hangor class, based on the Chinese Type-039B Yuan-class design, is equipped with air-independent propulsion technology, allowing it to remain submerged for extended periods. This makes detection exceptionally difficult. The Indian Navy may have wanted to gather acoustic signatures and operating data. But if the submarine has already arrived, that intelligence opportunity has passed - and Indian sailors have paid the price with their lives in a separate theater of operations.
India's unique record remains incomplete. So far, both the United States and Iran have bombed or fired upon Indian vessels. All that is missing is an Israeli strike to make the set complete.
Given India's deepening defense ties with Israel, such a scenario is unlikely. But if there were to be an Israeli Navy strike on a vessel carrying Indian nationals - perhaps in the context of the ongoing Iran-Israel exchanges that have seen ballistic missiles and airstrikes traded across the region - New Delhi would face a diplomatic test.
Would India summon the Israeli ambassador? Would it demand an end to the targeting of "commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure"?
Or would it offer "thank you, sir" to whichever country rescued the crew - and stay silent on the attacker?
The pattern is now undeniable:
| Incident | Attacker | Indian Crew Casualties | India's Official Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunmar Pioneer (April 18, 2026) | Iran | None reported | Summoned Iranian ambassador |
| MT Marivex (June 8, 2026) | US | None (24 rescued) | Thanked Oman for rescue; no criticism of US |
| MT Settebello (June 10, 2026) | US | 3 killed, 21 rescued | Summoned US diplomat; "strong protest" |
When Iran fired on Indian vessels, India summoned the ambassador. When the US bombed a ship, killing Indian sailors, India offered a diplomatic démarche - without explicitly naming the United States in public statements as the perpetrator.
India's foreign policy alignment with the United States and Israel has stripped it of the ability to defend its citizens when the perpetrator is its "strategic partner." For Indian sailors, this means their lives are expendable when they conflict with India's geopolitical calculations.
The PNS Hangor has reached Pakistan. The Indian Navy's P-8I fleet can stand down from its fruitless hunt. But the sailors of the MT Settebello - the three who died, the 21 who survived - will never get those moments back.
And India's unique record stands: its ships have been bombed by both the United States and Iran. The Israeli Navy has not yet joined the tally. But if it does, one imagines India's protest will be as measured as it was with Washington: polite, professional, and utterly ineffective.
As one observer put it: When your "strategic partner" kills your sailors, you don't call it a "betrayal." You call it a "regrettable incident." You express "deep sadness." You demand the "return of mortal remains." You summon the deputy chief of mission.
You do everything except name the killer.
The Indian Navy was busy chasing PNS Hangor. The Indian government was busy managing a diplomatic crisis without offending its patron.
And three Indian sailors are dead.
