What happened: MEA advisory for Indian seafarers working near the Black Sea

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued an advisory urging Indian seafarers to assess security risks before accepting jobs on commercial ships operating in and around the Black Sea and adjoining maritime areas. The MEA advisory links the risk to rising drone and missile attacks connected to the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

The MEA advisory connects the warning to a reported incident near Odesa involving MV AGN Ragnar. The advisory states that four Indian crew members were employed on MV AGN Ragnar: two crew members were found safe, and information about the other two was awaited at the time referred to in the account.

The MEA advisory states that incidents have increased since April and records deaths of five Indian seafarers.

The MEA advisory urges seafarers to take practical pre-employment steps:

Obtain comprehensive information from employers, recruitment agencies, and ship operators.Verify routes, ports of call, security arrangements, and emergency-response procedures.Ensure employment terms comply with maritime standards and include medical care, evacuation, repatriation, and compensation provisions in emergencies.

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