Two Indian Sailors Missing After Drone Strike Near Oman
Search and rescue operations are intensifying for two Indian sailors missing after a drone strike hit the MT Petro Dolphin near Oman.
The incident occurred on October 11, 2026, when the Nicaragua-flagged product tanker was struck while at the Sohar Anchorage. While ten of the twelve crew members—nine Indians and one Bangladeshi—were successfully rescued by local fishing boats, two Indian nationals remain unaccounted for.
Details of the Missing Seafarers
The two missing crew members have been identified as:
- Bir Bahadur Yadav, 26, a trainee engine rating/wiper from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, who had been on his first assignment for approximately five months.
- Amit Singh, aged between 20 and 25, from Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.
The brother of Bir Bahadur, Mantu Yadav, revealed that Bir had recently expressed concerns regarding regional security and had even discussed ending his nine-month contract before the attack took place.
Allegations of Protocol Failures
The disappearance of the two sailors has sparked intense criticism from the families involved. Ravindra Singh, a veteran merchant navy second officer and uncle to Amit Singh, has accused the vessel's captain of failing to follow essential emergency protocols.
Singh alleges that the captain ordered an evacuation without conducting a thorough headcount or search, potentially leaving injured or unconscious crew members behind on the vessel.
Furthermore, Singh claims that the ship's main and emergency generators were non-functional at the time, which severely hampered firefighting efforts. He also noted that Amit Singh had reportedly not received several months of salary prior to the strike.
The Captain's Response and Company Promise
In response, the ship's captain—communicating through the Indian Embassy in Muscat and the shipping company—maintained that the evacuation was necessary. The captain claimed the crew requested assistance and were evacuated by fishing boats after the strike. According to the captain, the vessel circled the tanker twice to call for the missing sailors, but received no response, leading to fears of an imminent explosion.
The shipping company has pledged to settle all outstanding wages and ensure the repatriation of the rescued crew members.
Rising Regional Tensions and UN Intervention
The Forward Seamen's Union of India (FSUI) has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the current response, calling for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to coordinate more effectively and for the deployment of high-intensity search teams.
This maritime incident follows a deadly strike on October 10, 2026, where Mohammed Yousuf Ali, a 46-year-old IT engineer from Hyderabad, was killed during a Houthi projectile strike at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. In light of these escalating threats, India addressed the United Nations Security Council on October 16, emphasizing that the safety of nearly 10 million Indian citizens living in GCC countries is a national priority. India has also called for the creation of a dedicated seafarers' emergency support network.