New Delhi: After the death of four Indian sailors in an attack by Russia on a cargo ship, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated that merchant seamen should not be targeted during conflicts.
The MEA has also rejected Russia’s claim that the vessel, hit in a strike off Ukraine, was carrying military equipment. The ship had grain as cargo when it came under attack, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
The Guinea-Bissau-flagged vessel MV Golden Leo, on which four Indian nationals were killed, had loaded grain from Ukraine’s Odesa port before its departure on July 19, the MEA said.
“As per the information that was made available to us by the Director General of Maritime Administration of our country, this particular ship, Golden Leo, on which we lost four of our nationals, had loaded grain as cargo before leaving the port of Odesa, and this happened on the 19th of July,” Jaiswal said.
“We once again reiterate that commercial shipping and seafarers should not be attacked under any circumstances,” he said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had conveyed the same message at the recent ASEAN Regional Forum meetings and during talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Manila, Jaiswal said.
This clarification came days after the Russian strike on the merchant vessel killed 10 people, including four Indians. The attack marked the first reported deaths of Indian seafarers in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as reported by News18.
India had summoned Russian Charge d’Affaires Vladimir Ladanov following the incident and conveyed that such attacks were “unacceptable” and should be avoided.
Russia would continue targeting vessels carrying weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier claimed, suggesting that the ship was linked to military supplies. He did not provide evidence for the claim.
“Our armed forces are striking and will continue to strike those vessels involved in transporting weapons and ammunition,” Peskov had said on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Air Force had said the MV Golden Leo was hit by Russian cruise missiles. The vessel was carrying 17 crew members, including five Indian nationals, the MEA said.