New Delhi: In yet another demonstration of the resurgence in attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, 11 Indian seafarers were injured after a “projectile” hit a transiting Panama-flagged commercial vessel on Tuesday (October 6) morning, with India reiterating its call for an immediate end to such attacks on shipping in West Asia.The vessel, the MT On Peace, was carrying 19 crew members, of whom 17 were Indian nationals, when it was struck while going through the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). A total of 12 crew members were injured in the attack, including 11 Indians.“We condemn the attack earlier today on a Panama-flagged commercial vessel MT On Peace (IMO 9893204) off the coast of Oman, where it was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. There was no mention of any perpetrator behind the attack.The MEA said the continuing attacks on shipping in the region were a “cause of deep concern” for India and reiterated its call for “an immediate cessation of such attacks in the interests of peace and stability in the region”.“The targeting of commercial shipping, seafarers and civilian infrastructure in the region must end, and navigation and commerce through international waterways must be restored at the earliest,” it said.With 11 Indian seafarers injured in Tuesday’s attack, the toll of Indian seafarers killed in attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz since the war began in February is around a dozen, while more than 20 have been injured.Last month, the MEA spokesperson had said that over 4,500 Indian sailors are working on board various commercial vessels plying in the Persian Gulf.The attack on the On Peace came amid a sharp increase in incidents involving commercial vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, associated with the UK Navy, has issued multiple warnings of attacks on tankers since October 3, with vessels struck by unknown projectiles.On October 5, the UKMTO reported that a tanker transiting the strait had been struck by an unknown projectile, causing a fire in its engine room. The same day, it issued an advisory after a tanker was hailed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and instructed to turn back or face being targeted. The vessel complied with the instruction.The UKMTO also recorded attacks on an LPG tanker and a crude oil tanker on October 4, while another crude oil tanker was reported to have been struck above the waterline on October 3. The agency has advised vessels to transit the waterway with caution and report suspicious activity.The latest attacks have come after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had begun to recover following months of severe disruption caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28. Oil flows through the region had risen sharply in September, with crude and condensate exports from Gulf producers recovering to levels close to those before the war.The recovery has relied in part on measures designed to reduce the risks to shipping, including US military assistance, ship-to-ship transfers outside the most exposed parts of the strait and increased use of pipelines that bypass Hormuz.While none of the recent attacks have been officially attributed to Tehran, media reports have indicated that Iran has substantially improved its ability to target ships in recent weeks.