New Delhi: The Union external affairs ministry on Tuesday (November 3) condemned the attack on a commercial vessel near Oman’s Limah on Monday evening. The vessel was carrying 14 Indian nations on board.While 13 of them were rescued, one Indian national died after sustaining injuries in the attack, the ministry said.In an official statement, the ministry condemned the attack on the vessel, MSV AL JUSUFI, and expressed condolences over the death.The ministry said that the Indian Embassy in Oman was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with Omani authorities to facilitate the early repatriation of the rescued Indian nationals and the mortal remains of the deceased.The MEA also expressed concern over continuing attacks on commercial shipping in the region and called for an immediate de-escalation of tensions.It reiterated the need for ongoing negotiations to conclude in a diplomatic solution, saying this was necessary for peace and stability to return to the region.“The targeting of commercial shipping and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the international waterways in the region, in keeping with international law, must be restored at the earliest,” the statement said.Later, during the MEA’s regular press briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Monday’s incident brings the West Asia crisis’s toll on Indian lives at 23. The individual slain yesterday, whom the shipping ministry has identified as Gandhar Nahim Ajij of Gujarat, is the 15th Indian seafarer to have been killed, Jaiswal said.In October, the MEA had condemned a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea that had put Indian seafarers at risk, after four ships carrying Indian nationals came under attack on October 6. The attacks had left one Indian sailor badly injured and dozens more forced to flee damaged or burning vessels.Fighting in the Black Sea has claimed the lives of five Indian nationals and rendered two others missing, Jaiswal noted on Tuesday.In September, India, the second-largest source of seafarers, and Liberia, which hosts the world’s largest shipping registry, had launched a 25-country Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.This article was updated to include details from the MEA’s regular press briefing.