New Delhi faced a sharper political confrontation on Wednesday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the G7 stage in France to call for safer sea lanes and protection for seafarers, days after three citizens from India were killed in a United States military strike on a commercial tanker near Oman.
Modi, speaking at the outreach session in Évian-les-Bains in the presence of United States President Donald Trump and other world leaders, said those working at sea must be able to carry out their duties “without fear”. He linked maritime security to global stability, trust and the safety of vital supply chains, but stopped short of naming Washington in his public remarks.
That omission gave the opposition fresh ground to attack the government, with the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and other parties accusing Modi of avoiding a direct public rebuke of the United States despite the deaths of three seafarers aboard the Palau-flagged MT Settebello. Opposition leaders said the Prime Minister should have used the G7 platform to demand a clear apology, accountability and assurances against further military action involving commercial vessels with crew members from India.
The controversy follows the June 10 strike on the MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, close to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most sensitive energy corridors. The vessel had 24 crew members from India on board. Twenty-one were rescued with assistance from Omani authorities, while chief engineer Patnala Suresh, deck cadet Aditya Sharma and fitter Shivanand Chaurashiya were confirmed dead.
United States military officials have maintained that the tanker was targeted after failing to comply with repeated warnings while allegedly attempting to breach a blockade connected to Iran-linked shipping. The vessel’s managers have rejected any wrongdoing and called for an international investigation, while New Delhi has lodged a strong diplomatic protest and demanded that attacks on commercial shipping cease.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the strike and conveyed New Delhi’s protest, saying lethal action against commercial vessels was not justified. The Ministry of External Affairs also summoned the United States chargé d’affaires in New Delhi, underlining that civilian seafarers should not become casualties of military enforcement operations.
The United States response has deepened the political row. Washington has said vessels operating in the area must comply with military instructions, while offering no public apology for the deaths. Opposition leaders have seized on that language to argue that the government’s diplomatic response has not matched the gravity of the incident.
Rahul Gandhi accused Modi of remaining silent in the face of what he described as an unacceptable assertion of military authority by Washington. His criticism was amplified by Congress leaders who questioned why trade and strategic talks with the United States were proceeding while families of the dead sailors were still awaiting fuller answers. Arvind Kejriwal also attacked the government, saying national dignity required a firmer public stance when citizens were killed abroad.
Government figures have countered that New Delhi has taken up the matter through appropriate diplomatic channels and that Modi’s G7 remarks placed the issue before world leaders without turning a multilateral platform into a bilateral confrontation. Officials have also pointed to ongoing efforts to bring back the mortal remains of the dead seafarers and assist the rescued crew.
The political heat has grown because the G7 summit placed Modi and Trump in the same diplomatic space at a sensitive moment. The two leaders exchanged greetings on the sidelines, and a bilateral meeting was scheduled as part of wider talks covering trade, supply chains, energy security, artificial intelligence and global conflicts. Opposition parties argue that the meeting should not be treated as routine while the maritime deaths remain unresolved.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis has added a serious security dimension to India’s overseas labour and shipping interests. More than 300,000 seafarers from India work globally, making crew safety a major diplomatic and economic concern. Maritime unions and shipping industry voices have warned that military blockades and naval strikes raise risks for civilian crews who often have no control over route decisions, cargo ownership or chartering arrangements.
