BT Explainer: How Bharat Maritime Insurance could protect Indian seafarers in conflict
The recent killings of Indian seafarers in the US strikes on commercial ships in the Gulf have drawn attention to European Protection & Indemnity (P&I) Clubs, and renewed debate over whether an indigenous insurance framework could facilitate rapid financial relief for the affected families.
- Jun 19, 2026,
- Updated Jun 19, 2026 4:09 PM IST
Three Indian sailors were killed in a US military strike on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman on June 10. Their bodies reached India on June 17, but grieving families have so far received no communication regarding compensation from the foreign shipping company that employed them.
The recent deaths of Indian seafarers in the Gulf region, along with another case of Second Officer Nishanth Uirthanathan aboard MT Celestial, highlight how compensation and accountability often become a complex process when dealing with foreign insurers.
This is where the indigenous insurance — Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) — launched recently could come to rescue in future such incidents. BMIP could facilitate rapid financial support mechanisms, coordinated repatriation efforts, emergency assistance to affected families, and institutional support for Indian seafarers caught in geopolitical events that may not fit neatly within traditional insurance categories, says legal and industry experts.
A sovereign-supported framework may be better positioned to coordinate with diplomatic missions, regulators and maritime authorities to ensure timely intervention.
Ishwar Achanta, former member of the National Shipping Board (NSB), says that it is the good time to step up the indigenous marine insurance as families of killed sailors are likely to face hard time with multiple multinational agencies involved such as vessel flag state, insurer, owners and port of refuge among others. "The BMIP can clean all this up in a flash," he says.
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Protecting Indian seafarers
The recent incident brings into sharp focus on a dimension of maritime insurance that is often underweighted in policy discussions: the protection of Indian seafarers in conflict environments, and the legal and institutional architecture governing their welfare when things go wrong.
Under the current framework, Indian crew members aboard vessels insured through European P&I Clubs are subject to foreign arbitration processes, overseas regulatory considerations, and the complexities of sanctions regimes that can delay or complicate claim settlements. For affected families, this often translates into prolonged uncertainty and limited recourse, says Gautam Bhatikar of law firm Phoenix legal.
“BMIP offers a meaningful shift in that dynamic. By anchoring insurance within Indian jurisdiction, crew welfare claims, including injury, death and repatriation, would be subject to Indian courts and Indian regulatory oversight. This strengthens India's position as a flag state with enforceable duty-of-care obligations toward its seafarers and provides affected parties with a far more accessible avenue for accountability and redress,” says Bhatikar.
However, this shift only translates into genuine protection if BMIP develops the operational infrastructure to match its legal mandate. Robust claims investigation, casualty management and specialist legal capacity must be built in parallel with the pool's insurance functions. A domestic legal framework unsupported by domestic operational capability remains, in practice, an unfulfilled promise.
DON'T MISS | Maritime routes must be safe: PM Modi at G7 on loss of lives of Indian seafarers
Going beyond conventional insurance
Harsh Buch, Founding Partner, Orion Counsel explains that BMIP has the potential to play a role extending beyond conventional insurance indemnity. Traditional P&I Clubs are primarily designed to respond to legal liabilities arising under contractual obligations, statutory requirements and established insurance principles. Their role is not to function as welfare institutions.
A sovereign-supported framework such as BMIP could, over time, evolve into a broader maritime resilience mechanism that complements traditional insurance by addressing humanitarian and operational gaps that emerge during crises.
“For example, in conflict situations such as the recent attacks on Indian-crewed vessels in the Gulf of Oman, BMIP could facilitate rapid financial support mechanisms, coordinated repatriation efforts, emergency assistance to affected families, and institutional support for Indian seafarers caught in geopolitical events that may not fit neatly within traditional insurance categories,” says Buch.
BMIP has the potential to incorporate public policy considerations that extend beyond strict liability analysis. “The recent incident shows that maritime resilience cannot be measured solely by the availability of insurance cover. It must also be measured by the speed and effectiveness with which institutions respond to seafarers and their families during moments of crisis. If BMIP evolves in that direction, it could provide India with something that traditional insurance structures alone cannot always deliver—an institutional framework that places Indian seafarers at the centre of maritime risk management rather than treating them merely as an insured exposure,” he added.
MUST READ | ‘Totally unacceptable’: Trump slams Iran for drone attack on Indian vessels in Hormuz
Building resilient marine ecosystem
The BMIP can contribute by strengthening access to specialised marine and war-risk insurance coverage for Indian shipowners and operators. More broadly, BMIP has the potential to support India's efforts to build a more resilient maritime ecosystem by strengthening risk-sharing mechanisms and reducing dependence on external insurance markets.
Aliasgar Hajee, CEO of Shipbuilding and Ship Management, SHM Group says incidents occurring in conflict-prone maritime regions highlight the importance of having robust risk management and financial protection mechanisms in place for the shipping industry.
“While insurance cannot prevent such events, it plays a critical role in helping maritime stakeholders manage the financial implications arising from geopolitical disruptions, security risks and operational uncertainties,” he says. As India's maritime sector continues to expand, having strong domestic capabilities across financing, insurance, shipbuilding and maritime services will become increasingly important. Ultimately, BMIP should be viewed as one element of a broader maritime resilience framework.
Three Indian sailors were killed in a US military strike on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman on June 10. Their bodies reached India on June 17, but grieving families have so far received no communication regarding compensation from the foreign shipping company that employed them.
The recent deaths of Indian seafarers in the Gulf region, along with another case of Second Officer Nishanth Uirthanathan aboard MT Celestial, highlight how compensation and accountability often become a complex process when dealing with foreign insurers.
This is where the indigenous insurance — Bharat Maritime Insurance Pool (BMIP) — launched recently could come to rescue in future such incidents. BMIP could facilitate rapid financial support mechanisms, coordinated repatriation efforts, emergency assistance to affected families, and institutional support for Indian seafarers caught in geopolitical events that may not fit neatly within traditional insurance categories, says legal and industry experts.
A sovereign-supported framework may be better positioned to coordinate with diplomatic missions, regulators and maritime authorities to ensure timely intervention.
Ishwar Achanta, former member of the National Shipping Board (NSB), says that it is the good time to step up the indigenous marine insurance as families of killed sailors are likely to face hard time with multiple multinational agencies involved such as vessel flag state, insurer, owners and port of refuge among others. "The BMIP can clean all this up in a flash," he says.
MUST READ | 18,000 Indian seafarers may leave Hormuz, but the ordeal isn’t over
Protecting Indian seafarers
The recent incident brings into sharp focus on a dimension of maritime insurance that is often underweighted in policy discussions: the protection of Indian seafarers in conflict environments, and the legal and institutional architecture governing their welfare when things go wrong.
Under the current framework, Indian crew members aboard vessels insured through European P&I Clubs are subject to foreign arbitration processes, overseas regulatory considerations, and the complexities of sanctions regimes that can delay or complicate claim settlements. For affected families, this often translates into prolonged uncertainty and limited recourse, says Gautam Bhatikar of law firm Phoenix legal.
“BMIP offers a meaningful shift in that dynamic. By anchoring insurance within Indian jurisdiction, crew welfare claims, including injury, death and repatriation, would be subject to Indian courts and Indian regulatory oversight. This strengthens India's position as a flag state with enforceable duty-of-care obligations toward its seafarers and provides affected parties with a far more accessible avenue for accountability and redress,” says Bhatikar.
However, this shift only translates into genuine protection if BMIP develops the operational infrastructure to match its legal mandate. Robust claims investigation, casualty management and specialist legal capacity must be built in parallel with the pool's insurance functions. A domestic legal framework unsupported by domestic operational capability remains, in practice, an unfulfilled promise.
DON'T MISS | Maritime routes must be safe: PM Modi at G7 on loss of lives of Indian seafarers
Going beyond conventional insurance
Harsh Buch, Founding Partner, Orion Counsel explains that BMIP has the potential to play a role extending beyond conventional insurance indemnity. Traditional P&I Clubs are primarily designed to respond to legal liabilities arising under contractual obligations, statutory requirements and established insurance principles. Their role is not to function as welfare institutions.
A sovereign-supported framework such as BMIP could, over time, evolve into a broader maritime resilience mechanism that complements traditional insurance by addressing humanitarian and operational gaps that emerge during crises.
“For example, in conflict situations such as the recent attacks on Indian-crewed vessels in the Gulf of Oman, BMIP could facilitate rapid financial support mechanisms, coordinated repatriation efforts, emergency assistance to affected families, and institutional support for Indian seafarers caught in geopolitical events that may not fit neatly within traditional insurance categories,” says Buch.
BMIP has the potential to incorporate public policy considerations that extend beyond strict liability analysis. “The recent incident shows that maritime resilience cannot be measured solely by the availability of insurance cover. It must also be measured by the speed and effectiveness with which institutions respond to seafarers and their families during moments of crisis. If BMIP evolves in that direction, it could provide India with something that traditional insurance structures alone cannot always deliver—an institutional framework that places Indian seafarers at the centre of maritime risk management rather than treating them merely as an insured exposure,” he added.
MUST READ | ‘Totally unacceptable’: Trump slams Iran for drone attack on Indian vessels in Hormuz
Building resilient marine ecosystem
The BMIP can contribute by strengthening access to specialised marine and war-risk insurance coverage for Indian shipowners and operators. More broadly, BMIP has the potential to support India's efforts to build a more resilient maritime ecosystem by strengthening risk-sharing mechanisms and reducing dependence on external insurance markets.
Aliasgar Hajee, CEO of Shipbuilding and Ship Management, SHM Group says incidents occurring in conflict-prone maritime regions highlight the importance of having robust risk management and financial protection mechanisms in place for the shipping industry.
“While insurance cannot prevent such events, it plays a critical role in helping maritime stakeholders manage the financial implications arising from geopolitical disruptions, security risks and operational uncertainties,” he says. As India's maritime sector continues to expand, having strong domestic capabilities across financing, insurance, shipbuilding and maritime services will become increasingly important. Ultimately, BMIP should be viewed as one element of a broader maritime resilience framework.