In a tense geopolitical climate, families of 16 Indian seafarers held in Iran since December are anxiously awaiting their loved ones' fate. The crew, including one person each from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, was seized by Iranian authorities on December 8th, who alleged the ship, MT Valiant Roar, was carrying 6,000 metric tonnes of illegal diesel. The company, Prime Tankers LLC, based in Dubai, has denied these claims.
The Indian families have approached the Delhi High Court, seeking urgent directions to the government to secure consular access and ensure their safe return. According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, 10 of the Indian crew members have been arrested and moved to a jail in Iran, while the others remain on board the ship. Consular access has now been granted to the 10 arrested men who are being held in Bandar Abbas prison.
However, relatives of the detained crew members allege they have been confined to a tiny room on the vessel without proper food or potable drinking water. While most of their laptops and phones have been taken away, one phone was returned, allowing them to have limited contact with their families. The BBC has sent detailed questions to the Iranian embassy in Delhi about the allegations but has not received a response.
The political situation in Iran has been turbulent over the past few weeks, with widespread protests breaking out in the last week of December, initially triggered by anger against economic grievances and later expanding into calls for a regime change. Since then, there has been a significant build-up of US military forces in the region, raising speculation of a possible strike.
Jugwinder Brar, owner of Prime Tankers, told the BBC that the protests in Iran had prevented the company's lawyer from meeting the crew. He also denied the allegations by Iranian authorities, saying that the vessel was carrying Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO), a marine fuel used for refuelling the company's other ships in international waters. He alleged that Iran also seized another ship owned by Prime Tankers in December 2023 due to similar claims of carrying illegal fuel. Of its 21 crew members, 18 were released after nine months, but three remain imprisoned.
Brar insisted that both ships carried valid documents for VLSFO and the company's priority was to ensure the safe return of all crew members to India. However, Brar and his companies, including Prime Tankers, are subject to US sanctions, with the Treasury Department alleging that many of his vessels operate as 'part of Iran's shadow fleet' to transport oil. When asked why the US sanctioned him, Brar said: 'America is an unchallenged country; no-one can question it. It can do whatever it wants.'
The ship was seized weeks before many of the crew were due to complete their nine-month contracts in January. Masood Alam, one of the 10 arrested men, is set to get married after Eid, which falls in March. His father, Ibrar Ansari, told the BBC that they had a short call with him on 5 January since then, they have had no information. Gayatri Singh, wife of chief officer Anil Kumar Singh, accused Iran of using the crew as 'human shields'. Cargo disputes, she said, should be settled with companies, not workers. 'The company decides the cargo, not the crew. Sending them to jail is inhuman', said Pradeep Singh, general secretary of the Sailors' Union of India.
