All three merchant ships disabled by US Navy strikes off the coast of Oman this week had earlier been detained, found unsafe or placed under sanctions, records show.
The ships are the Marivex, the Settebello, and the Jalveer. The Marivex had 24 Indian crew aboard and was sanctioned by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in December 2025.
The Settebello, where three Indian seafarers died, had its classification suspended in 2021 for non-compliance and was detained at the Russian port of Novorossiisk in 2022.
The Jalveer, which had 20 Indian crew who were reported safe, was detained at the Indian port of Haldia in February 2026 for fire-safety and emergency-preparedness deficiencies.
The US Central Command said it disabled the Jalveer with two Hellfire missiles after the crew failed to comply with its directions, and that it had violated the blockade by trying to carry Iranian oil.
The two sides have not reconciled their accounts, with CENTCOM saying its forces strike only after repeated warnings, and IOS Marine saying the Settebello was never contacted.
