Moments after speaking to his family for the last time, an Indian sailor lost his life in the middle of the sea. Merchant Navy engineer Herambh Karmarkar from Pune, Maharashtra, was killed in an aerial attack on a commercial ship near the strategic Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. Several other Indian nationals were also injured in the incident amid the ongoing Iran-US conflict. Two of them are reported to be in critical condition.
According to reports, Herambh Karmarkar was serving as an engineer on the commercial vessel ‘MV GFS Galaxy’. On Sunday night at 2:49 AM, he spoke to his family in Pune for the last time over the phone. Just 41 minutes later, around 3:30 AM, the ship was targeted in an aerial attack near Omani maritime waters.
The attack immediately triggered a massive fire near the ship’s engine room. Herambh Karmarkar, who was on duty at the time, got trapped in the blaze and died on the spot. Of the 24 people onboard, the remaining 23 were rescued safely.
On Tuesday, the ship’s operating company informed the family about his death.
The Indian government has lodged a strong protest with Iran over the incident. The Ministry of External Affairs said the Deputy Head of Mission at the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi was summoned and urged to immediately halt such attacks on international shipping routes and ensure the safety of maritime navigation.
It may be noted that military tensions between Iran and the US have intensified recently. Following US military operations, several commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz have come under attack. The growing instability in this one of the world’s busiest oil transit routes has raised fresh concerns over international maritime security and commercial shipping.
