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Relevance: GS Paper II (International Relations — Diaspora, India-US) & GS Paper III (Maritime Security) Source: MEA briefings & news, June 2026

1 · What happened

Between 8 and 11 June 2026, the US Navy fired on three oil tankers off the coast of Oman — the MT Marivex, MT Settebello and MT Jalveer. All carried Indian crew. The strikes aimed at the engines, to stop the ships rather than sink them — yet three Indian sailors were killed on the Settebello.
The US said the ships had broken its blockade on Iranian oil. India protested strongly, and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told the US that firing on cargo ships is “not justified.” But one hard question remained: whose job was it to protect these sailors?

2 · The Story

The core idea. An Indian sailor often works on a ship that, on paper, “belongs” to a tiny far-off country like Palau — a flag chosen only because it is cheaper. This money-saving trick is called a “flag of convenience.”
Sea law says a ship is protected by the country of its flag, not by the country its sailors come from. So Palau is meant to defend it — but Palau has no navy. And India, whose citizen is on board, has no clear right to step in. The sailor is left in between.

1 The ship flies a cheap foreign flag — a “flag of convenience” — picked to save money.
2 The rule: only that flag’s country is responsible for protecting the ship.
3 But that country is tiny and has no navy — so it cannot actually help.
4 And India cannot simply step in → the sailors fall into a protection gap.

One more idea — the “shadow fleet.”

  • To carry banned (sanctioned) oil quietly, some old ships sail under disguised flags and without proper insurance, hiding who owns them and what they carry.
  • The US says it hit these tankers because they were such shadow-fleet ships moving Iranian oil — and many Indian sailors end up working on them.

  • The blockade was America’s own order — other countries never agreed to it, so it does not bind them in law.
  • The world’s referees are weak. The IMO (International Maritime Organization), the UN’s shipping body, only writes safety rules — it has no navy or police to enforce them. And the main sea-law treaty, UNCLOS, was never ratified by the US, so it is hard to hold the US to it.
  • Why India worries (the numbers). India has about 3.5 lakh sailors — roughly one in six worldwide is Indian. More than half work on foreign-flagged ships, and over 18,000 are in the Gulf now.
  • What India is doing. The Navy’s Operation Sankalp (since 2019) guards Gulf shipping from pirates and drones, and DG Shipping runs a 24×7 help desk for stranded sailors.
  • Way ahead. Push at the IMO for a clear rule that sailors are civilians and must not be fired upon; keep Indians off risky shadow-fleet ships; and give tax breaks so more ships fly the Indian flag — which lets the Navy protect them directly.

UPSC Value Box
Flag of Convenience (FOC) Flying a cheap foreign flag (Palau, Guinea-Bissau, Panama, Liberia) to save on cost and rules.
Flag-state rule A ship is protected by the country of its flag — not the country its crew belongs to.
Shadow fleet Old, uninsured ships under disguised flags used to move banned oil quietly.
IMO International Maritime Organization — the UN’s shipping-rules body; sets standards but cannot enforce them.
UNCLOS & the US UNCLOS (1982) is the main law of the sea; the US has not ratified it.
Operation Sankalp Indian Navy’s Gulf mission since 2019, guarding ships from pirates and drones.
DG Shipping India’s shipping regulator (Merchant Shipping Act, 1958); runs the seafarer help desk.
Key Figures 3.5 lakh Indian sailors · 1 in 6 worldwide is Indian · 18,000+ in the Gulf · 3 killed (MT Settebello).

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to maritime governance, consider the following statements:

  1. Under maritime law, the main responsibility to protect a merchant ship lies with its flag state, not with the home country of its crew.
  2. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has the power to militarily enforce its rules against states that attack commercial ships.
  3. The United States has signed some related agreements but has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 1 and 3 only    (c) 2 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: Protection follows the flag, not the crew’s nationality — the very gap that ties India’s hands.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap): The IMO only frames rules; it has no navy or police and cannot enforce anything against a state.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The US has signed related agreements but never ratified UNCLOS, weakening efforts to hold it accountable.
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