The manager of the tanker Settebello has accused the U.S. Navy of causing the deaths of three Indian seafarers and questioned key parts of the U.S. military's explanation for the attack. This has led to a direct conflic...
The manager of the tanker Settebello has accused the U.S. Navy of causing the deaths of three Indian seafarers and questioned key parts of the U.S. military's explanation for the attack. This has led to a direct conflict over whether warnings were given and whether the ship was transporting Iranian oil.
In a public statement released on Thursday, IOS Marine FZE, based in Dubai and managing the Palau-flagged tanker, called for a complete international investigation into the June 9 incident in the Gulf of Oman. This incident marked the first confirmed fatalities of seafarers linked to the enforcement of the U.S. blockade on Iran.
“Three innocent lives have been lost, and the families of the deceased deserve answers,” the company stated.
This statement followed a confirmation by the Indian government that three Indian crew members, initially reported missing after the attack, had been found dead. Meanwhile, twenty-one other Indian seafarers were rescued.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), U.S. forces disabled the Settebello after the vessel allegedly tried to transport Iranian oil through the Gulf of Oman in violation of the U.S.-led blockade. CENTCOM reported that a U.S. aircraft fired precision munitions into the ship's engine room after the crew repeatedly ignored instructions from American forces.
The vessel's manager strongly disputed this account.
“We categorically reject claims that the Motor Tanker SETTEBELLO ignored warning calls, communications, or instructions,” IOS Marine said. “To the best of our knowledge, no warning call, message, or communication was ever successfully established with the vessel prior to the actions taken against it.”
The company further claimed that the vessel had “no affiliation whatsoever with Iran or Iranian oil” and that it was involved in legitimate commercial operations at the time of the incident.
They added that the tanker had been stationary for about ten days before the attack and was not taking evasive actions that would justify military force.
This directly contradicts CENTCOM’s claim that the tanker was transporting Iranian oil and did not comply with U.S. directions.
An independent tanker tracking company, TankerTrackers.com, previously identified the Settebello as being part of a network involved in transporting Iranian crude oil, stating that the 29-year-old tanker had carried Iranian oil “for at least five years.” The firm also noted that the vessel had not been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, despite its alleged involvement in Iranian oil trades.
Another maritime intelligence firm, Windward, stated that the Settebello exhibited patterns typical of tankers involved in sanctioned Iranian oil transport, highlighting six flag changes in six years, a fraudulent registry, lack of known marine insurance, and repeated AIS spoofing to hide operations at Iran's Bandar Mahshahr port. They categorized the vessel as a “dark fleet” tanker used solely for transporting Iranian fuel oil and heavy crude.
IOS Marine refutes these allegations about the Settebello's involvement in Iran’s so-called “dark fleet.” The company stated the tanker “had no affiliation whatsoever with Iran or Iranian oil” and was engaged in legitimate commercial activities at the time of the strike. They did not specifically respond to claims about the vessel's past trading history, AIS activity, insurance status, or prior involvement in exporting Iranian oil.
The manager reported that the tanker sustained over $35 million in damage and will likely need to be towed to the Far East for extensive repairs before it can return to service.
Additionally, IOS Marine raised questions about the legal grounds for the blockade and the authority under which military actions are taken against civilian merchant vessels.
“What legal authority is being exercised?” the statement asked. “What criteria are used to determine which civilian vessels can proceed and which cannot?”
The company also warned that the incident could have led to a major environmental disaster if the vessel's cargo tanks had been breached.
“It is fortunate for the maritime community and the coastal states in the area that this incident did not cause pollution,” the statement mentioned.
In a statement earlier this week, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez emphasized that “the ship’s master and the company bear ultimate responsibility for voyage planning and conducting thorough risk assessments.” He added that “no commercial or operational reason can justify exposing seafarers to such dangers,” stressing the need to prioritize the protection of crews.
India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, used this incident to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, arguing that New Delhi must better protect Indian nationals working on merchant vessels in the Gulf. The party condemned the U.S. actions leading to the deaths of three Indian seafarers on the Settebello and called for diplomatic efforts to ensure accountability while safeguarding other Indian mariners in the region.
The deaths have increased international scrutiny of the blockade, which the U.S. started in April to limit Iranian oil exports.
CENTCOM announced on Wednesday that U.S. forces disabled another tanker, the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer, which allegedly attempted to transport Iranian oil through the Gulf of Oman. The military stated U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to follow directions from American forces.
The Indian Embassy in Muscat reported that it was monitoring the incident off the port of Shinas after the Jalveer was disabled during a U.S. blockade operation. The embassy coordinated the evacuation of the vessel’s 20 Indian crew members with assistance from the Royal Navy of Oman, later confirming that all 20 seafarers were safely brought ashore.
According to CENTCOM, U.S. forces have now disabled nine non-compliant vessels and redirected 135 compliant ships since the blockade operations commenced on April 13.
CENTCOM has not yet publicly responded to the vessel manager’s claims.