Three Indian seafarers were killed and one was injured amid the conflict in West Asia, the Directorate General of Shipping said on Monday.
The department did not provide details of the incidents but said that the four were working on board foreign-flagged vessels.
There had been no confirmed casualties, detentions or hostile forces coming aboard Indian-flagged vessels, it added.
The department, which reports to the Union shipping ministry, said that it was monitoring the maritime security situation in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and adjoining waterbodies amid the conflict between Israel-United States and Iran.
Reported threats to vessels have included missile and drone activity, electronic interference and other maritime security concerns, it added.
Also read the top updates about the West Asia conflict here.
On Saturday, Israel and the US launched a joint operation to “degrade the capabilities” of the Iranian government.
The attacks came amid tensions between the three countries over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance.
Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
Iran retaliated to the attacks by striking not only Israel and US military bases in the region, but also some ships.
On Monday, Iran claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was “closed” for shipping traffic, warning that any vessel attempting to pass through the strategic waterway would be set on fire.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterbody that connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
“If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze,” warned General Sardar Ebrahim Jabari, an adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander-in-chief.
On Monday, AP reported that an Indian mariner on board a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman was killed after a bomb-carrying drone boat struck the vessel.
The attack occurred off the coast of the Omani capital Muscat. This was the first Indian death in the conflict.
This came a day after a Palau-flagged oil tanker was hit on Sunday off the coast of Oman, leaving four persons on board injured. Fifteen of the 20 persons on the tanker, named Skylight, were Indians. The remaining were Iranians.
All of them had been evacuated, said the Oman Maritime Security Centre.
Also read: How the Israel-Iran conflict could impact India
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