All 22 Indian seafarers aboard the Panama-flagged crude oil tanker MT GEM NO. 2 are safe after the vessel was hit in a drone attack at Sharjah Anchorage on October 9, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal confirmed on Saturday.
The attack occurred off the United Arab Emirates coast in the Arabian Gulf. Sonowal said authorities are monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with the ship's management company.
What happened
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera off the UAE coast, triggering a fire on board that was later extinguished. Shipping and security sources identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged supertanker GEM NO. 2, which was carrying a crew of 22 Indian nationals, Reuters reported.
No attribution yet
No party has been named as responsible for the attack, and the cause remains unestablished. The incident is the latest in a wave of attacks on commercial shipping in Gulf waters.
It also comes a day after India's foreign ministry highlighted the new Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers, co-chaired by India and Liberia, which brings together 25 countries and has condemned attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers in the Gulf and the Black Sea. The Sharjah incident is an early test of that maritime-safety diplomacy.
Sources:
- 22 Indian crew safe after drone attack on Panama-flagged tanker off Sharjah — Economic Times
- All 22 Indians safe after drone attack on oil tanker MT GEM NO. 2 near Sharjah — Moneycontrol
- Drone attack hits Panama-flagged oil tanker at Sharjah Anchorage, all 22 Indians safe — Times Now
The attack occurred off the United Arab Emirates coast in the Arabian Gulf. Sonowal said authorities are monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with the ship's management company.
What happened
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera off the UAE coast, triggering a fire on board that was later extinguished. Shipping and security sources identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged supertanker GEM NO. 2, which was carrying a crew of 22 Indian nationals, Reuters reported.
No attribution yet
No party has been named as responsible for the attack, and the cause remains unestablished. The incident is the latest in a wave of attacks on commercial shipping in Gulf waters.
It also comes a day after India's foreign ministry highlighted the new Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers, co-chaired by India and Liberia, which brings together 25 countries and has condemned attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers in the Gulf and the Black Sea. The Sharjah incident is an early test of that maritime-safety diplomacy.
Sources:
- 22 Indian crew safe after drone attack on Panama-flagged tanker off Sharjah — Economic Times
- All 22 Indians safe after drone attack on oil tanker MT GEM NO. 2 near Sharjah — Moneycontrol
- Drone attack hits Panama-flagged oil tanker at Sharjah Anchorage, all 22 Indians safe — Times Now