16 Indian crew members detained last month aboard vessel captured by Iran, says New Delhi

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - Sixteen Indian crew members were detained last month aboard a vessel owned by a UAE-based company by Iranian authorities, according to an Indian statement on Saturday.

Around mid-December, the mission was informed about the detention of the vessel “MT Valiant Roar” by Iranian authorities, with 16 Indian crew members on board, the Indian Embassy in Iran said on Saturday.

The Indian Express newspaper said on Saturday that the tanker was seized in international waters off the Dibba Port of the UAE by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Dec. 8, 2025, which alleged that the “tanker was reportedly smuggling 6,000 tonnes of fuel.”

The embassy said that India’s Consulate in Bandar Abbas on Dec. 14 wrote to the Iranian government seeking consular access to the crew.

“The request for consular access has been repeated numerous times since then, both by diplomatic correspondence and in-person meetings in Bandar Abbas and Tehran, including at the level of the ambassador,” it said, adding that “Iranian authorities were also requested to allow the crew to communicate with their families in India.”

The Indian mission "intervened with the Iranian navy to arrange emergency supplies of food and water in early January," amid depleting supplies, the statement said.

It added: “However, the mission and the consulate continue to press the Iranian authorities to grant early consular access to the crew, and to ensure expeditious completion of the judicial proceedings."

On Dec. 24, 2025, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it had seized a vessel in the Persian Gulf carrying 4 million liters of what it described as “smuggled fuel.” In late November, Iran seized two vessels it said were carrying 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel near Kish Island in the Persian Gulf. Earlier that month, the IRGC also seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker off the Makran coast along the Gulf of Oman.

The Iranian authorities have not released any remarks regarding India's statements on the detention of its nationals.