An Indian sailor transporting dates from the United Arab Emirates to Gujarat has become another casualty of the West Asia conflict, despite having no involvement in the hostilities. His death, followed by another fatal tanker attack in the Gulf, raises a larger question about why workers from India and other Global South nations are losing their lives in conflicts far from home.
Gandhar Nahim Ajij died after an unidentified aerial object struck the Indian-flagged MSV Al Jusufi near Limah, Oman, on November 2. The vessel caught fire and sank, while the Omani Coast Guard rescued 13 other Indian crew members.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday that 23 Indians had died in the West Asia conflict since February, including 15 seafarers. Five other Indians have died in attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea during the Russia-Ukraine war.
The dangers intensified on Thursday when an apparent missile strike hit the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT Velos Sapphire in the Gulf, killing a sailor whose nationality remains undisclosed.
The Greek-managed vessel was sailing without cargo towards Bahrain when an unidentified projectile struck it, triggering a fire that the crew managed to extinguish, Reuters reported.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards subsequently claimed that two tankers had caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, following similar claims involving five vessels a day earlier. The strategic waterway normally carries around one-fifth of global oil consumption.
Why Indians are paying the price
India is the world’s second-largest supplier of seafarers after the Philippines. According to the BIMCO-ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, India supplies 311,936 maritime professionals, accounting for 12.16 per cent of the global workforce.
Most work on foreign-flagged vessels. The Indian Express reported in October that more than 90 per cent of Indian seafarers in government-tracked fleets served aboard such ships.
Consequently, Indian sailors face dangers across international shipping routes, regardless of whether India is involved in the conflicts affecting those waters.
Why the Global South bears the burden
Global shipping relies heavily on workers from India, the Philippines and other developing economies, while shipowners, operators and flag registrations often belong to different countries.
This separation means workers who have little influence over geopolitical decisions may face their deadliest consequences.
Financial pressures compound the problem. India’s maritime regulator acknowledged that some seafarers accept dangerous assignments because wages can be two to three times higher than normal.
India requires written consent before specified transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Eligible families may also receive ₹10 lakh in ex-gratia assistance, besides applicable insurance and union benefits.
Yet neither higher wages nor compensation can eliminate the dangers.
The recurring deaths expose a troubling imbalance: Global South nations provide the manpower sustaining international trade, while their workers risk becoming casualties of wars they neither started nor control.
