India has launched a high-priority operation to safely move 13 Indian-flagged commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz as tensions continue to rise in the Gulf region. The effort involves coordination between multiple ministries to protect Indian seafarers, ships and commercial interests operating in the area.
At the same time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has advised Indian nationals against travelling to Iran and urged citizens already there to leave with assistance from the Indian Embassy, per a report by Wion.
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Focus on safe extraction of Indian vessels
Opesh Kumar Sharma, Director at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, was quoted as saying by Wion that the authorities are working on a specialised tactical plan to extract the ships currently present in the strategic waterway.
“A coordinated priority is prepared through which we try to get our ships out. Currently, there are about 13 Indian-flagged vessels there: one LPG tanker, five crude oil tankers, one chemical or product tanker, three container ships, two bulk carriers, and one dredger. Our priority is to get our ships out that are currently inside,” he said.
Officials also confirmed the successful transit of the Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker Nissos Keros through the Strait of Hormuz on May 25 and 26. The tanker, carrying nearly 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil and headed to Visakhapatnam, is expected to arrive on June 3.
Authorities said all Indian seafarers in the region remain safe and no hostile incidents have been reported so far.
During the inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in #WestAsia, Opesh Kumar Sharma, Director, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways informed that the ministry continues to coordinate to ensure seafarers' welfare and uninterrupted maritime operations. He also said… pic.twitter.com/TTLNWOu9yx
— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) May 29, 2026
Thousands of Indians assisted
Per Wion, the Directorate General of Shipping’s emergency control room has received more than 10,800 calls and over 24,000 emails since operations began. So far, 3,422 Indian seafarers have returned safely from the Gulf region, including 47 in the last four days.
Additional Secretary (Gulf) Aseem R Mahajan said Indian missions are continuing evacuation and assistance efforts.
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“We have advised Indian nationals to avoid travelling to Iran and urged all those already there to leave with our embassy's support. So far, our embassy in Tehran has facilitated the movement of 2,557 Indian nationals out of Iran through land border routes. Israel's airspace is open, and limited flight operations have resumed to destinations in the region, which can be used for onward travel to India,” he said.
The government added that flight operations continue normally in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait.
