13 Indian sailors ‘trapped’ on ship amid Black Sea attacks, says seafarers’ union

Fifteen sailors, including 13 Indians, are trapped in a “terrible and life-threatening situation” at the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk with missile and drone attacks in the area, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India said on Tuesday.

The port is located on the Black Sea coast.

The crew of the Tanzania-flagged merchant vessel AMIR1 is “living under constant fear of a direct hit at any moment”, the union said.

The organisation urged the authorities, the shipowner, the country where the vessel is registered and New Delhi to “immediately secure their safety and arrange prompt repatriation”.

Indian seafarers must not be left as “sitting targets” in conflict zones, the union said.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the matter.

Several vessels with Indians on board have been struck in the region this month.

On Sunday, the Indian embassy in Kyiv said that a ship with four Indians on board was struck by a projectile at the Odesa port in Ukraine. While two of the Indian seafarers are safe, “information is awaited regarding the other two”, the embassy said.

The incident came days after four Indians were killed and one critically injured after a cargo ship was attacked while it departed the port of Odesa on July 19. The five Indians were among the 17 crew on board the ship.

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