India has instructed shipowners, managers, and recruitment agencies to stop deploying Indian seafarers on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The directive marks a significant escalation in maritime risk management as tensions between the United States and Iran intensify, threatening the flow of global energy supplies through the narrow waterway.

The move comes after a sharp increase in attacks on commercial shipping in the region.

India recently summoned Iran’s senior diplomat in New Delhi to lodge a formal protest following strikes on two Indian merchant vessels.

The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attacks, signaling that New Delhi is taking a harder line on the security of its maritime interests.

Indian seafarers constitute a substantial portion of the global merchant marine workforce.