The Federation of Seafarers and Indian Seafarers Union (FSUI) has shared an old video showing a vessel carrying 22 crew members, including 21 Indians, coming under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on April 22. The video shows several small boats moving around the vessel during the incident. At one point, an RPG is fired, while crew members can be seen rushing to the ship’s alleyways to find a safe place. The union also shared pictures of seafarers hiding for safety as the attack was taking place. “These were not pirates. They were naval forces of the IRGC,” the FSUI said in a post on X.
On 22 April, in the Strait of Hormuz, a vessel carrying 22 crew members, of whom 21 were Indian, faced a deeply distressing situation.
These were not pirates.
They were naval forces of the IRGC.Videos show several small boats surrounding the vessel, the intensity of the… pic.twitter.com/5UgxtZETSd
— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) August 20, 2026
The union said the video showed the dangers faced by seafarers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. It also argued that issuing safety advisories and guidelines was not enough to protect those working in the region.
The FSUI said seafarers need a guaranteed naval presence in the area to ensure their safety.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) recently said 166 Indian seafarers were still in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz region. Of them, 125 were on six Indian-flagged ships, while 41 were working on vessels registered in other countries.
According to an August 4 update from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, 3,972 Indian seafarers had already been brought back from the Gulf region amid the ongoing conflict.
India is the second-largest source of seafarers in the world after the Philippines, according to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026.
The report says India has 311,936 seafarers, who account for 12.16% of the global maritime workforce. Indian officers make up 13.41% of all officers working in the global maritime sector, while 171,218 Indian ratings account for 11.29% of the worldwide ratings workforce.
The large number of Indian seafarers working in the region has also led to several deaths since the Iran war began. Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs said Indian seafarers had suffered the highest number of fatalities among seafarers of all nationalities in attacks on commercial vessels.
The government later told Parliament that 10 Indian seafarers were among the 16 Indian nationals who died in the Middle East conflict.
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