The Indian Foreign Ministry on Saturday denied reports of an alleged attack on the ship Liaki Freedom, which was carrying Indian crew members, near the coast of Oman, and described them as “baseless.” Now a voice message has appeared from the ship in which crew members confirm that there is no fire on the ship.
This comes after three ships carrying Indian crew members were recently targeted in the Gulf, including an attack on Wednesday that killed three Indian sailors.
What happened?
The State Department issued this clarification after reports claimed that the Liaki Freedom Company was subjected to another US attack near the coast of Oman.
According to the ministry, officials contacted the ship’s captain, who confirmed that everyone on board was fine. She said that reports indicating that the ship had been attacked were “false” and “unfounded.”
“Negative, no fire”: Audio from Liaki Freedom appears
An audio clip, which was first shared on social media by the Forward Seamen’s Federation of India (FSUI), has surfaced online. The recording is said to be from the Liaki Freedom and includes crew members confirming that the ship was not attacked.
“Everything is fine, everything is fine,” the ship’s captain confirms in the audio recording.
When asked if there was any fire on board as reported, the captain replied: “Negative, no fire.”
Attacks on Indian ships in the Gulf
It is worth noting that the latest incident comes after attacks launched by US forces on three commercial ships carrying Indian crew members in the Gulf of Oman. One of these accidents claimed the lives of three Indian sailors.
Three Indians, Patnala Suresh (44), Aditya Sharma (23) and Shivanand Chaurasia (38), were killed when the Palau-flagged ship MT Setibelo was attacked by a US aircraft on Wednesday.
At least 13 Indian-flagged ships are currently waiting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed, as HT reported earlier.
EAM S Jaishankar said he spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and conveyed India’s strong protest over the attacks in the Gulf that resulted in the death of three Indian sailors. He said that such measures against commercial shipping are unjustified.
On Friday, the State Department summoned the highest-ranking American diplomat in New Delhi, Chargé d’Affairs Jason Meeks, for the second time this week to protest the attacks.
