By Admin 
‘Good night, take care of the children…’ Chief Engineer Patnala Suresh had sent this last message to his wife on the night of June 9. Next morning his wife’s ‘Good morning’ remained unnoticed. An American missile tore into the engine room of their ship MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman. Indian sailors 44-year-old Suresh, 23-year-old deck cadet Aditya Sharma and 37-year-old engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasia were killed in the attack. The dreams of the wife preparing for her one year anniversary, the elderly parents who have lost their only son and the young cadet who left saying ‘Papa is coming soon’ were destroyed. Three families are sitting with one question without any concrete answer – ‘Why did our loved ones have to die?’
Three dead bodies and three devastations – family by family story
1. Aditya Sharma- Deck Cadet, Himachal Pradesh
Aditya Sharma was a deck cadet, i.e. a student who was dreaming of becoming a ship’s officer in the future. In November last year, he had left for China from Dubai and was scheduled to return home in May 2026. But due to some reasons his duty was increased.
When his father Rajesh Sharma spoke to him in May, Aditya had said, ‘Papa, I will stay for one more month, then I am definitely coming home.’ He was last able to talk to his father on phone on June 8. He told them that the ship was heading towards Oman and the captain was planning to enter the Gulf area. The father was a little worried, but he thought that merchant ships are never attacked. After the attack, father Rajesh told the media, ‘I was not worried. Such ships are not attacked. What happened was completely surprising. This was wrong.
When the news of the attack spread, there was panic in the family. Aditya’s uncle Sanjeev got a call around 9 pm on June 9 that Aditya was missing. He immediately reached his brother’s house in Jalandhar. They kept trying to contact the company the whole night, but did not get any information. At 1:30 in the night they came to know that Aditya is no more in this world.
Aditya’s grandfather Ashok raised the biggest question, ‘We want to know that when the captain was warned not to proceed further, in what capacity did he proceed with the ship? We want investigation. Taking aim at America, father Rajesh also asked that 21 crew members were saved, but how were three killed?
Another shocking revelation was made by Rajesh that he himself used to track the location of the ship and often noticed irregularities in the location. Sometimes the navigation system would show the old location, and sometimes the tracking device itself would be switched off. When Aditya was asked, he said that sometimes the tracking device is switched off deliberately.
2. Shivanand Chaurasia, Engine Fitter, Uttar Pradesh
Shivanand lived in Surauli village of Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh. He had boarded the ship from Mumbai and worked as an engine fitter. He was the sole breadwinner for his wife Sushila and family. His dreams were very simple – to educate children, run a household and perhaps someday build a small house of his own.
There was mourning in the village due to the death of Shivanand. The relatives’ eyes were on the American plane, which destroyed the hopes of an ordinary family by firing a missile. Shivanand was one of the millions of Indians who connect with the world through sea and feed their loved ones through their hard work.
The family has raised the question as to how a civilian on board a commercial ship was targeted by the US Army without any clear warning. Their demand is that there should be a complete investigation into the matter and action should be taken against the culprits.
3. Patnala Suresh, Chief Engineer, Andhra Pradesh
The most painful story among the three is probably that of Suresh. 44-year-old Suresh was the chief engineer of the ship. He was the only earning member of his family. Wife Bhargavi, two sons (13 and 10 years old) and two nieces, who were also being brought up by him.
Suresh had spent about 15 years in the sea. Every year he got six months leave, but he rarely took the entire leave. He loved his work. This time too he had left for a small assignment, but due to operational delays and increasing tension, his return was postponed.
When the American missile hit the engine room of the ship on the intervening night of June 9-10, Suresh was investigating a fault in a generator there. The direct target of the missile was the engine room itself. There was no chance of escape from there.
Bhargavi told that their last conversation was on the night of June 8. Suresh had messaged him – ‘Good night. Take care of the children. Next morning, when Bhargavi sent a good morning message as usual, there was no response. Bhargavi said, ‘I kept thinking that maybe he was busy. He is usually not on deck at that time.
Suresh’s family was preparing to celebrate his anniversary on 24th June. This was his 15th anniversary. Suresh had already received his relieving letter and was just waiting for his replacement to return home. That replacement never came.
Bhargavi told BBC, ‘There have been attacks there (in the Gulf region) and some people have been killed. But he told me, ‘Don’t worry about me. I will come home safely and we will celebrate our anniversary properly’
When Bhargavi contacted the superintendent on the morning of 11 June, he was told that 21 crew members had survived, but three were missing. By nightfall, two bodies were found, but Suresh was still missing. Suresh’s body was found the next day at around 1 pm.
Bhargavi told PTI, ‘We were four. Now there are three of us. This one thing sums up everything that this accident took away.
What are the main demands of the families?
The demands of these three families are almost the same. Those are the most basic things that any person needs when he loses someone:
- Immediate return of dead bodies: The first thing every family wants is that the mortal remains of their loved ones should be sent to India as soon as possible, so that their last rites can be performed with respect. Aditya’s family is waiting for him in Himachal, Shivanand’s village is desperate to see him for the last time and Suresh’s wife is still demanding his photograph.
- Better Compensation: Suresh was the only earning member of the family. The future of two children and two nieces now hangs in balance. The families have demanded financial assistance from the government.
- Independent investigation: The families have no confidence that the US military’s own statement will be true. They want an international independent investigation to find out what really happened.
- Accountability: Aditya’s grandfather directly asked that when the captain was warned to proceed, why did he do so? When 21 people can survive, why couldn’t three survive? The families want the truth, not just compensation.
What did America say and what is the ship operator’s side?
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says the ship violated the US blockade, did not stop despite repeated warnings and was carrying Iranian oil. Because of this, the American fighter plane attacked the engine room with a precision missile.
The ship’s operator iOS Marine rejected this claim. The company says that the ship was carrying out completely legitimate commercial work, had nothing to do with Iran, nor had it received any warning before the attack. The company has demanded an independent international investigation into the matter.
What did the Indian government do?
The Indian government immediately took action at the diplomatic level. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned US Charge d’Affaires Jason Meeks and lodged a strong protest. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India conveyed its ‘deep concern’ to the US and demanded a halt to such attacks.
Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal posted on Twitter that efforts were underway to bring back the bodies of the dead sailors and that their deaths were a ‘deep loss’ to India’s maritime community. However, the bodies have not yet reached India. The families are confused as to when their loved ones will return and will they ever know the truth?