The vessel sank on March 4, 2026, approximately 20 nautical miles west of Galle, after reportedly being struck by a torpedo from a United States submarine.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed the deaths of six Indian nationals and one missing person amidst the escalating conflict in West Asia, detailing ongoing efforts for repatriation and diplomatic engagement.
The Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from a sinking naval ship off the southern coast, while also recovering several bodies. The incident occurred outside Sri Lankan waters but within its search and rescue zone.
INS Tarkash provided assistance to an Iranian dhow after it was incapacitated by inclement weather off the coast of Somalia on Monday, March 10, 2025.
The US torpedo attack on the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters was a lawful act of war between belligerents, not a diplomatic or strategic embarrassment for India, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Thirteen Indians are among the 16-member crew of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that went missing after it capsized off the coast of Oman, the country's maritime authority said.
Addressing the 36th extraordinary session of the Council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) held on Thursday in London, the Indian envoy said, "India remains deeply concerned about the evolving situation and continues to call for de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy, with utmost restraint and priority being given to the safety of civilians."
Of the 22 crew members on board the ship, MV Wan Hai 503, 18 have abandoned the vessel and are being rescued by Indian Navy and Coast Guard assets, he said.
Eagle-eyed movie buffs don't miss a thing. Part of their passion for cinema is noticing clever little details slipped in by the filmmaker as ardently as the creative. With Easter Sunday just around the corner, Sukanya Verma digs up some super filmi easter eggs just for you.
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
'India was not obliged to protect the Iranian ship.' 'Once the Iranian ship left Indian waters, she was on her own.' 'Guilt tripping India is wrong.'
Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has confirmed that its crew are well-equipped to handle potential GPS spoofing incidents, asserting that all relief missions to earthquake-hit Myanmar were successfully completed as planned. The IAF's statement follows reports of GPS signal tampering during relief flights, which raised security concerns. Sources in the military establishment had earlier suggested that IAF transport aircraft carrying relief materials to Myanmar faced "GPS spoofing", prompting the IAF to assure that its crew are capable of handling such situations.
'Torpedoes travel at more than 100 kilometres per hour, about 50-60 knots.' 'It must have been a matter of a few minutes before it detonated under the Iranian ship.' 'The Iranian ship would have probably got three, four minutes and wouldn't have known till they actually heard the whirr of the torpedo.'
Amidst escalating regional tensions, Sri Lanka is carefully considering its response after a second Iranian ship requested entry into its waters following a reported US submarine attack on an Iranian frigate near Galle.
Far from it; the country's resistance to the US, its nuclear ambitions, and its pursuit of influence and proxies across the Middle East are driven by a constant search for independence and security. Thus, Iran will never capitulate. Trump will learn this home truth ultimately, and it is going to be a humbling personal experience that may even destroy his presidency, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Indian Coast Guard has rescued 12 crew members of a merchant vessel from the country which sank in the north Arabian Sea during its voyage from Porbandar in Gujarat to Bandar Abbas port in Iran, officials said on Thursday.
The fresh incident comes amid growing global concerns over attacks on various commercial vessels in the Red Sea by the Houthi militants.
"After more than 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures as per the SOPs, the pirates on board the hijacked fishing vessel were forced to surrender. The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, have been safely rescued," the Indian Navy added.
21-year-old Nganthoi Sharma Kongbrailatpam was part of the cabin crew in Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which crashed near Ahmedabad airport on Thursday.
In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy has extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the Western Indian Ocean following attacks on them.
Of the three crew members who went missing after an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea off Gujarat coast, the bodies of its pilot and a diver have been recovered while search for the third one is still on, officials said on Wednesday.
Three crew members went missing after an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) helicopter on a rescue mission crashed into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar coast in Gujarat, officials said on Tuesday.
Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey met in Islamabad in what analysts say is the formal opening of a new diplomatic formation that could reshape the post-war regional order. Their immediate goal is a ceasefire; their larger ambition is to ensure that neither Iran nor Israel emerges from this war in a dominant position. Pakistan's foreign minister then flew directly to Beijing and mooted a Chinese role as guarantor of any eventual agreement. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
The Navy deployed six ships and an unknown number of surveillance aircraft in the rescue mission.
The Indian Navy's specialist team had protected them from nine armed pirates, and completed sanitization and seaworthiness checks of fishing vessel Al-Kambar.
Indian Navy's destroyer INS Kochi responded following the attack on the vessel, MV Andromeda Star, on April 26, officials said, adding all the crew members are safe.
An Indian sailor, who was taken hostage by pirates nearly a month-and-a-half ago, has been "rescued", External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.
60 years ago, on January 24, 1966, Dr Homi J Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme, died in an air crash on Mont Blanc. The official inquiry said the plane went off course in bad weather, but coincidences, missing evidence, and later unproven claims have kept conspiracy theories alive. A fascinating excerpt from Bakhtiar Dadabhoy's book, Homi J Bhabha: A Life.
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Indian warship INS Sharda came to the rescue of the vessel FV Omaril with 11 Iranian and eight Pakistani crew members after it came under attack from pirates, they said.
The Navy said on Friday that the safety of the crew held hostage by armed pirates was ascertained and the Indian Navy warship continued to maintain its presence in the close vicinity of the vessel till its arrival in the territorial waters of Somalia.
In a calibrated operation, the Indian Navy on Saturday 'coerced' 35 Pirates onboard a merchant ship around 1,400 nautical miles from the Indian coast to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of 17 crew members without any injury, officials said.
The Indian Navy on Saturday said its guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam has deployed a team to help fire-fighting efforts on board British oil tanker MV Marlin Luanda which has got 22 Indian and one Bangladeshi crew members.
The Navy deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, helicopters and and MQ9B Predator drones to assist the vessel, MV Lila Norfolk, after it sent a message on the UK Maritime Trade Operations portal, saying unknown armed personnel had boarded it on Thursday evening.
Names and names and names and names... 329 in all. Some Indian. Some Canadian. Some British. Berry. Gupta. Jain. James. Bhatt. Beauchesne. Chatlani. Enayati. Lougheed.... Vaihayasi Pande Daniel visits Ahakista, Ireland, home to the memorial for the worst terrorist atrocity in India's history.
The Indian Navy will conduct a large-scale multilateral maritime engagement exercise with African countries in April, aiming to enhance interoperability with African navies and further strengthen maritime security cooperation. The exercise, titled "AIKEYME" (Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement), will see the participation of several African nations, including Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa. The exercise is part of India's growing engagement with the Global South, as outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "MAHASAGAR" vision for mutual and holistic advancement in the region.
A French Navy has rescued eleven Indian sailors from suspected pirates at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. According to a media release of the Embassy of France in New Delhi, the rescue operation took place on January 18 off the coast of Oman.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, operated by Tata-owned Air India, was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian passenger, along with crew members. There are feared to be no survivors.
Given the long distance from the closest land, the Indian Navy has deployed its state-of-the-art Boeing P-8I Poseidon long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which have the endurance to reach the location of the incident.
