INTERNATIONAL DESK — Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 12, 2026. Pandiselvi, the mother of Indian sailor Naveen Kumar, has not heard from her son for more than six months yet she still clings to hope he will return, crying as she replays old voice notes.
Kumar was one of six crew members assigned to work on two Iran-linked cargo vessels last seen in Iranian waters in May before disappearing. Commercial ships have come under fire since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28. Tehran attacked ships to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz and the US in turn struck Iran-linked ships to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.
The United Nations' International Maritime Organisation has confirmed 130 "incidents" — mainly attacks — in the region since the conflict began, with at least 25 seafarers killed. "We cannot bear this pain," Pandiselvi, 45, told rom her one-bedroom house in the city of Dindigul in southern India's Tamil Nadu state, struggling to keep her composure.