Cargo Ship Carrying 23 Indian Seafarers Catches Fire After Drone Strike En Route To Pakistan

A cargo ship carrying 23 Indian sailors was hit by a drone while sailing from Russia to Pakistan on September 2, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) said.

The MV BARYON, IMO number 9151412, was sailing from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to Karachi when it was targeted.

The drone hit the accommodation area of the MV BARYON, causing a fire. The crew put out the fire, and the ship continued towards Karachi using its own engine.

All 23 Indian sailors onboard were reported safe.

A second drone was also seen during the incident, Manoj Yadav, general secretary of the FSUI, said. No injuries have been reported among the crew.

The FSUI shared photos and video showing the damage caused by the fire. The union said the Indian sailors were only doing their jobs and were not part of the conflict.

It asked India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Directorate General of Shipping to check on the crew and confirm that they were safe.

The FSUI also called for better protection for Indian seafarers. It asked officials to ensure High Risk Area wages for the sailors and take up the issue with the country concerned.

@DroneAttack 2nd in the world. Not expendable.⁰Indian seafarers keep global trade moving. That is not a licence to kill them.

On 2 September 2026, MV BARYON (IMO 9151412) was struck by a drone while sailing from Novorossiysk to Karachi. The UAV hit the accommodation. Fire broke… pic.twitter.com/ICrL0P5Lx5

— FSUI (@FSUIINDIA) September 4, 2026

It is not known whether the MV BARYON was attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident follows several other cases involving commercial ships carrying Indian nationals.

On April 22, a vessel carrying 22 crew members, including 21 Indians, came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz.

The FSUI called it a distressing confrontation and said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out the attack.

On June 9, the U.S. military carried out a precision strike on the Palau-flagged oil tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman.

On July 24, a Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters. All the crew members were reported safe.

A senior shipping ministry official said two vessels were hijacked in separate incidents off Yemen and Somalia. A total of 22 Indian nationals were involved in those incidents.

On August 20, the Eritrea-flagged oil products tanker M.T. Sibu 1 was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden. The tanker had 20 crew members onboard, including 16 Indians. It was about 30 nautical miles from the Yemeni coast when it was hijacked, according to the official.

References: abplive, news18