'Seafarers Not Disposable': FSUI Alleges 'Shameful Negligence And Bureaucratic Cruelty' After Tamil Nadu Seafarer's Death Off Oman

'Seafarers Not Disposable': FSUI Alleges 'Shameful Negligence And Bureaucratic Cruelty' After Tamil Nadu Seafarer's Death Off Oman
ETV Bharat English Team June 21, 2026 https://www.etvbharat.com/en/bharat/seafarers-not-disposable-fsui-allege...

The seafarers' body said that Second Officer Nishanth Uirthanathan's body was left to decompose and his body was being stonewalled.

New Delhi: The Forward Seamen's Union of India(FSUI) has accused officials of “shameful negligence and bureaucratic cruelty” after the death of a Tamil Nadu seafarer off the Oman coast earlier this month.

Second Officer Nishanth Uirthanathan, 35 died on June 11 onboard MT Celestial at Duqm Port, Oman what the FSUI said, due to lack of medical support. The Indian Embassy in Oman said that Uirthanathan passed away “due to medical complications”.

In the latest post on X on Sunday, the FSUI wrote, “Shameful negligence and bureaucratic cruelty exposed! Second Officer Nishanth Uirthanathan (35, Tamil Nadu) died onboard MT Celestial on 11 June at Duqm Port, Oman — abandoned by ship management and administrators who failed to provide timely medical evacuation despite desperate pleas”.

“His body was left to decompose onboard for days without a freezer. Crew forced to use cold water bottles in a desperate, humiliating attempt to slow the rot. Only after the horror went viral did authorities finally move the remains to Duqm for postmortem,” it added.

According to the FSUI, the grieving family “already shattered and demanding answers is being stonewalled”. “They await the full postmortem report, yet face a heartless ultimatum from the Embassy: repatriate the mortal remains before the 25th, or Oman will simply dispose of them,” it said.

“Is this “administration” or outright abandonment of an Indian seafarer’s family? Administrators failed him in life. They are failing his dignity in death. Enough! Demand full investigation into the medical negligence, accountability for the company, and respectful repatriation — no more excuses or threats. Seafarers are not disposable!,” the seafarers' body wrote.

According to the FSUI, three Indian seafarers lost their lives in US military strikes on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman / Strait of Hormuz region. "The grieving families of the slain seafarers will make a heartfelt appeal for justice, compensation, and support".