At least one crew member, an Indian national, was killed aboard the US-owned crude oil tanker Safesea Vishnu (IMO: 9327009), which suffered an attack on Wednesday.
15 other Indian-origin crew members were also evacuated to a safe place after the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was attacked near Iraq's Basra, the Indian Embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday.
"Embassy extends its deepest condolences to the family members of the deceased crew member," it added in an X post.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed the attack on the Safesea Vishnu near Basrah, in addition to a second vessel—which Reuters identified as the Maltese-flagged Zefyros (IMO: 9515917).
Though this comes amid increasing attacks by Iranian naval forces on commercial ships near the Persian Gulf, the Indian Embassy did not confirm who attacked the Safesea Vishnu.
This also comes a day after two projectiles of unknown origin struck the Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree (IMO: 9323649), as it sailed through the Hormuz Strait earlier on Wednesday, en route to the Kandla Port in Gujarat.
According to a statement from the ship's operator Precious Shipping, the attack caused a fire and damaged the engine room of the vessel.
"Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.
A Reuters report has also said, citing sources, that the US Navy has been refusing a number of requests from vessel operators for military escorts through the Hormuz Strait, as the risk of attacks was very high.
This comes despite US President Donald Trump's earlier annoucement of discounted shipping insurance for vessels trying to transit the strait, at which time he had also said that "if necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz".
India's response to the 'Mayuree Naree' attack
India condemned the attack on the Thai-flagged vessel, as well as attacks on commercial ships in general.
"Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing," the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in an X post on Thursday.