India says 13 ships, 18,000 sailors stranded near Strait of Hormuz after US attacks

NEW DELHI, India — India's Ministry of External Affairs said it has delivered a formal protest note to Washington over attacks by the U.S. Navy on three India-linked vessels, calling on the United States to take its objections into account. The ministry said the targeted ships carried Indian crew members. According to the statement, two of the vessels were subject to U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions, while the third was classified in the non-compliant ships category. The Indian Ministry of Ports and Shipping said 13 India-flagged ships remained waiting in the Strait of Hormuz and that more than 18,000 Indian sailors were operating in the Gulf region, as security tensions disrupted maritime traffic. India also confirmed that three Indian nationals were killed in a U.S. strike on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, and said a protest had been lodged with Washington over that incident as well. No further details on the diplomatic response were immediately available.