New Delhi . The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected reports of an attack on the ship ‘Liaki Freedom’ with Indian crew off the coast of Oman. After talking directly to the captain of the ship, the ministry made it clear that all the crew members are safe. External Affairs Ministry sources said that in view of the recent incidents involving commercial ships in the Gulf region, the ship was immediately contacted to confirm the situation. A Foreign Ministry source said, “We have spoken to the captain of the ship ‘Liaki Freedom’. He has confirmed that all the crew members are safe and the news of the attack is false.” This clarification rejected the new attack claim and confirmed that there was no incident with the ship. This has helped address the growing concern amid misinformation and unverified news spreading on social media.
It was being claimed on social media that this was the fourth American attack on a tanker with Indian crew in a week. It was also claimed that four sailors had died in the attack on ‘Freedom’ near Oman.
However, the fact-check unit of the Ministry of External Affairs also termed the claim of attack on the ship as fake. “Fake News Alert! Please beware of such false and baseless claims and posts on social media,” the ‘X’ post said.
India had lodged a strong protest over the recent attacks on ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz, including the attack on the commercial vessel ‘Setebello’ off the coast of Oman in which three Indian nationals were killed. At the same time, the Guinea-Bissau flagged ship ‘Jalveer’ is also included, which was attacked earlier and had 20 Indian sailors on board.
On Friday, the State Department again summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks to register New Delhi’s protest against the continuing attacks on commercial ships off the coast of Oman.
Responding to India’s diplomatic protest, a US State Department official said Washington is in talks with the Indian government on the matter.
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