NEW DELHI: Twenty-two Indian sailors are among seafarers on board two ships seized by gunmen in the Gulf of Aden this week, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

The Seamull tanker, with 16 Indian sailors, issued a distress call in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday. Gunmen boarded the vessel and forced it to change course towards Somalia.

“Two foreign-flagged vessels were involved. One had 16 Indian nationals on board, while the other had six,” a ministry spokesperson told reporters. “We are in touch with authorities, all of them are reportedly safe.”

The United States sanctioned the Seamull tanker in December last year as one of the vessels in Iran’s “shadow fleet” accused of exporting Iranian oil using deceptive shipping practices.

On Monday, a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship, Lutuf, with six Indians, was also hijacked by eight gunmen, who launched the attack from a ship they seized in April.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2026