India summons Ukraine envoy over Black Sea ship attack

India summoned Ukraine's top envoy in New Delhi on Monday to protest against an attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Black Sea that killed an Indian national.

The Indian foreign ministry said it had summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk to convey its "serious concern" over the July 18 attack on the MV Omforfi.

The ship had three Indian nationals on board, one of whom was killed.

"The ministry conveyed its serious concern over the incident and condemned such attacks on commercial shipping in the strongest terms," it said in a statement.

Polishchuk was asked to tell Kyiv that such actions, "which endanger the lives of innocent civilian seafarers, are unacceptable and must be avoided".

New Delhi had also summoned the Russian envoy last week to protest against an attack on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine's port of Odesa that killed four Indian nationals.

India is one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide, with more than 320,000 active seafarers in 2025, according to Delhi's shipping ministry.

New Delhi has issued a string of security warnings for ships heading into the Black Sea that are locally flagged or employ its seafarers in the wake of the recent attacks.

Fourteen Indian seafarers have also been killed in attacks on ships during the Middle East war, according to the foreign ministry.