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In the latest incident, 11 Indian nationals were among 12 crew members injured when the Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman.
The vessel was carrying 19 crew members, of whom 17 were Indian nationals. With the assistance of Omani authorities, all injured crew members were evacuated and are receiving medical treatment in Khasab, Oman, the Ministry of External Affairs said.
India thanked the Omani authorities for their 'valuable support' and called for an immediate cessation of attacks in the region.
“The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and navigation and commerce through international waterways must be restored at the earliest,” the MEA said.
The statement came hours after India condemned the attack on MV Royad Mammadov in the Black Sea, in which two foreign seafarers were killed and members of the crew, including Indian nationals, were injured.
The MEA said the three Indian nationals who were part of the crew were safe. The injured were rescued by Romanian authorities and were receiving medical attention. “We thank Romanian authorities for their swift action in this incident,” it said.
The two incidents, involving commercial vessels navigating two of the world’s strategically important waterways, have put the safety of merchant crews and international shipping back in focus for India.
“India views these attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers with grave concern. The targeting of traffic in international waterways is severely undermining global commerce and welfare of people across the world," the MEA said.
The latest attacks also come as New Delhi is seeking greater international cooperation to protect commercial shipping and seafarers from attacks in conflict zones.
In September, India and Liberia launched a 25-nation Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers during the UN General Assembly, aimed at ensuring the safety and security of merchant crews and commercial shipping against targeted attacks.
The initiative was launched against the backdrop of growing threats to civilian shipping in conflict-affected regions and India's repeated concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers.
India has separately been engaging both Russia and Ukraine over the safety of civilian shipping in the Black Sea.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday that New Delhi was talking to both Moscow and Kyiv to seek an understanding on civilian shipping, grain and energy. He said India had strongly protested to both sides after attacks on civilian vessels in July killed and injured Indian sailors.
India's diplomatic efforts have also received an acknowledgment from Kyiv, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha describing India's proposal for a ceasefire arrangement as the 'broadest' among four initiatives received by Ukraine from India, the US, Türkiye and Egypt.
India's proposal seeks to combine an energy ceasefire with a truce in the Black Sea, according to Sybiha.Jaishankar said India's engagement had initially centred on civilian shipping, but expanded to grain and energy because disruptions in the Black Sea had wider consequences.
“We started with the civilian shipping, and then the civilian shipping led to the grain, and the grain led to energy,” he said.
“The Black Sea, grain, the energy, the fertiliser — all of these disruptions actually have a disproportionate impact on the Global South,” he said.
With Indian seafarers now injured in attacks involving commercial vessels in both the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea, New Delhi has increasingly linked maritime security with its wider diplomatic push for dialogue, de-escalation and respect for international waterways.