Nicosia, Cyprus. Indian national Heramb Karmarkar, a marine engineer aboard the Cypriot-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy, has died after the vessel was struck while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, his family said on Wednesday.
Cypriot authorities said the remaining 23 crew members were rescued by the Omani navy after abandoning the ship.
Crew member identified
Karmarkar, 30, was identified by a relative, Rishi Tandon, who told the Indian Express that authorities had informed the family of his death.
Cypriot Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said the vessel was hit by an “unidentified projectile” at 1.40am Cyprus time on Sunday.
Rescue operation
Hadjimanolis said the crew included Indian, Ukrainian, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Filipino nationals, with no Cypriot nationals aboard at the time of the strike.
The 23 surviving crew members left the vessel in a lifeboat and were collected by the Omani navy before being taken ashore. The ship was being towed to Khor Fakkan port in the United Arab Emirates.
Regional tensions
The death was reported a day after India summoned Iran’s ambassador in New Delhi to register what it described as a strong protest following missile strikes on two other vessels, the MT Al Bahiyah and the MT Mobasa, in the Strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday.
US Central Command said on Sunday that the M/V GFS Galaxy had been attacked by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces, prompting a third round of US strikes against Iran that week. Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed on Sunday, while the United States and President Donald Trump said the waterway remained open.