Full Breakdown
India and Liberia Launch UN-Backed “Group of Friends” to Tackle Rising Attacks on Commercial Shipping
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Core Event: Launch of the Maritime Safety Initiative at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
- Co-chairs: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (India) and Liberia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Sara Beysolow Nyanti.
- Goal: Unite major ship-owning states, large ship-registry nations, and leading seafarer-supplying countries to coordinate responses to attacks on commercial vessels and their crews.
Background & Context
- Recent maritime security incidents have surged across the Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Black Sea.
- India supplies a large share of the world’s seafarer workforce; Liberia hosts the world’s largest ship-registry by tonnage.
- At the BRICS summit hosted by India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a “Seafarers Emergency Support Network” to aid distressed crews.
Recent Attacks Cited
| Vessel (flag) | Location | Date (if given) | Casualties |
|---|---|---|---|
| MV Cape Dao (Antigua and Barbuda) – also reported as MV Cape Dow, MV Cape Dove, MV Chemp Pluto | Gulf of Oman | September 23 | 1 Indian sailor killed |
| El Gaia (Panama) | Strait of Hormuz | 10 days before September 25 | 1 Indian crew member missing |
| MV Omorfi (unknown flag) | Russian territorial waters | July 18 | Indian chief officer killed |
| MV Golden Leo (unknown flag) | After leaving Odessa | – | 4 Indian seafarers killed |
Sources differ on the exact name of the Antigua-and-Barbuda-flagged bulk carrier attacked on September 23, but all describe the same incident resulting in an Indian fatality.
Data & Statistics
- International trade worth more than $140 billion per day moves through the oceans, with over 80 % of global trade dependent on maritime routes. (Jaishankar)
- Approximately 2 million seafarers operate the world’s merchant fleet. (Jaishankar)
- Reuters reported that on September 21 only 2 commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz, compared with a pre-conflict average of about 125 large commercial ships per day.
Official Statements & Responses
- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stressed that existing UN Security Council and International Maritime Organisation mechanisms are insufficient and called for “stronger and closer international cooperation.”
- Liberia’s foreign minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti affirmed Liberia’s commitment to the group’s mandate and highlighted the need for a unified response regardless of a vessel’s flag.
Why It Matters
- Repeated attacks jeopardize the safety of seafarers from multiple nationalities and threaten the flow of essential commodities—food, fuel, fertilizer and finance.
- The Group of Friends aims to complement existing frameworks (IMO, ILO) by providing a platform for rapid information sharing, coordinated deterrence, and assistance for crews facing confinement, delayed repatriation, or psychological distress.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Vessel naming: Four different names are used for the same Antigua-and-Barbuda-flagged carrier attacked on September 23, indicating a lack of consensus on the vessel’s official designation.
- Attribution of attacks: Responsibility for the strikes in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea remains unestablished in the available reports.
- Scope of impact: Exact numbers of non-Indian seafarer casualties are not provided, limiting assessment of the broader human cost.
What’s Next
- The Group of Friends will draft its terms of reference and procedural guidelines in upcoming meetings, with plans to present coordinated proposals at future UN and IMO sessions. (Jaishankar)