Strait of Hormuz: Dashboard to monitor seafarers, liaison officers for families, says Government

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 15, 2026 05:05 AM IST

A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Oman, Tuesday. (Reuters)

With another Indian seafarer being killed in the US-Iran conflict, the Centre on Tuesday ordered a series of measures, including an operational dashboard to track every Indian on every vessel — regardless of the country it belongs to — and a dedicated liaison officer for every seafarer who is killed or injured, to act as the “single point of contact” for the affected family.

The decisions were taken at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, soon after the fresh attacks on two oil tankers with Indian crew on Tuesday.

According to sources in the  ministry, nine Indian seafarers have died, one is presumed dead, and seven have been injured since the start of the West Asia crisis. There have been 29 incidents of attacks on vessels carrying Indian seafarers — four involving Indian-flagged vessels and the rest involving foreign-flagged vessels.

According to the ministry, each liaison officer will serve as “the single point of contact for families, coordinating medical updates, travel documentation, family assistance, repatriation, seafarers welfare fund support, outstanding wages, contractual entitlements and other compensations”.

Sonowal also ordered real-time vessel-by-vessel monitoring and round-the-clock coordination by his ministry, in association with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Indian Navy, Directorate General of Shipping (DGS), Indian Missions in Iran and Oman, and other maritime stakeholders.

He directed the Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and the Director General of Shipping to establish a comprehensive operational dashboard to account for every Indian on every vessel, irrespective of their flags, operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.

The dashboard is aimed at providing real-time information on vessel position, ownership, cargo, crew strength, crew welfare, threat assessment, intended voyage, next port of call, and the availability of food, fuel, medicines and communication facilities.

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Officials would work closely with Indian Missions in Iran, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and other affected countries in the region to obtain verified and real-time information regarding navigational safety, coastal state advisories, route status, port-of-refuge arrangements, hospitals, medical evacuation, repatriation procedures, management of mortal remains, and the status of ongoing investigations.

The meeting underlined that vessel movement through the affected region should only be undertaken after a fresh threat assessment, the professional judgement of the ship’s Master, and close coordination with competent maritime authorities.

Sonowal told officials that shipowners, vessel managers, and Recruitment and Placement Service Licence (RPSL) agencies employing Indian seafarers in the region should be immediately made to provide compliance reports and a confirmation that no Indian seafarer was being compelled to sail without adequate information, protection and support.

“The Government of India has communicated with all the multilateral forums of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and also with the representatives of the concerned flag administration involved in the multiple incidents that contravened international conventions and fundamental requirement of seafarers’ security and safety, and protection of right of innocent passage for merchant vessels. We will continue to make every effort to ensure resolution of the issues and remain committed to all stakeholders in this trying and challenging time,” Sonowal said.

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Criticising the “irresponsible, unwarranted and uncalled for attacks” on cargo ships, he assured Indian seafarers and their families that the government was committed to assisting them at all costs.

India’s Ambassador to Iran Rudra Gaurav Shresth, Ambassador to Oman Prashant Pise, and Ambassador to UAE Deepak Mittal are also learnt to have joined the meeting online.

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Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers.

Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers.

He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More

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