India pushes for consular access to 16 Indian seafarers detained by Iran

The Indian Embassy in Tehran on Saturday (January 17, 2026) urged Iranian authorities to grant consular access to 16 Indian seafarers who were detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRG) on December 8, 2025.

The matter is expected to be subject to judicial process in Iran, the Embassy said in a statement posted on X. The 16 people detained were crew members on vessel ‘MT Valiant Roar’.

“Around mid-December 2025, Mission was informed about the detention of the vessel MT Valiant Roar by Iranian authorities, with 16 Indian crew members on board. The Consulate of India in Bandar Abbas immediately (on 14 December) wrote to the Government of Iran seeking Consular Access to the crew,” the statement read.

Access has not been granted despite repeated requests since December 14, 2025, the Mission said, adding that the Embassy Consulate in Dubai is also pressing the UAE-based company which owns the ship for further legal support. It reached out to the company first on December 15, 2025, it said.

“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. The Iranian authorities were also requested to allow the crew to communicate with their families in India,” the statement further said.

The Indian Embassy also said that it is working to ensure the crew’s welfare via provision of food, water, and fuel supplies. “The Consulate has subsequently been in touch with the Iran-based agents of the company, to press upon the company to ensure provision of food, water and fuel for the ship, and also to arrange legal representation for the crew in Iranian courts,” it said.

“Upon being informed by the ship of depleting food and water stocks, the Mission intervened with the Iranian navy to arrange emergency supplies of food and water in early January. The Indian Consulate in Dubai has also been pressing upon the ship-owning company to ensure legal representation and regular supplies of provisions to the ship,” the statement added.

The latest statement from the Indian Embassy comes after the family members of the 16 seafarers appealed in the Delhi High Court, urging to direct the government “to take steps to provide consular access to the detained persons and to secure timely completion of investigation and their repatriation to India”.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (January 16, 2026) issued notice to the Union government The matter has been posted for hearing on January 21, according to Gurinder Pal Singh, the counsel for the seafarers.

Parents of one of the Indian seafarer, Ketan Mehta, have also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure their son’s release.

At the time of detention on December 8, 2026, the crew members were on a vessel in international waters off the Dibba port near Dubai.

The vessel ‘MT Valiant Roar’ is owned by Glory International FZ LLC /Prime Tankers LLC, Dubai, also referred to as Global Tankers in India. The petitioners have said that the vessel was carrying Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) but Iran has accused the seafarers of smuggling diesel.